Duelist of Zero
by InfinityZer0
Summary: Carlton Johnson was just your average Yu-Gi-Oh nerd. That was, until he was sucked into another dimension by a pink-haired tsundere loli. Follow his story, as he butts heads with Louise, gets followed by Kirche, and turns Halkeginia upside down. (with a little royal help.) Rated T for some strong language. Slow updates BTW.
1. The King of Games is a familiar?

Yugioh x Familiar of Zero – Chapter 1 – The King of Games is a familiar?!

My name's Carlton. That's as good a way to start a story as any, right? Anyway, for you to believe what I'm about to tell you, you'll have to believe in the impossible. It's cheesy, but it's so true, in this case. I'm just gonna say it. Magic is real. I didn't know this until I saw a giant green egg in front of me, that no-one else seemed to notice.

Let me give you some context. As I said, my name's Carlton. Carlton Johnson. I'm 17 years old, 6'4", and I live in England, but my family originates from the Caribbean. All of my life, I've loved Yu-Gi-Oh. In fact, I hold the world record for the most Yu-Gi-Oh cards owned: All of them. Thankfully, my older cousins also liked Yu-Gi-Oh, and were completionists, like me, so they collected all of the cards that came out before I was old enough to play the game. The family trait of stubbornness forced me to continue where they left off, and from there, I acquired every single tournament legal Yu-Gi-Oh card, and the vast majority of the illegal, special event ones. They were my pride and joy, and since I had every single card, in at least three copies, I could make literally any deck that I wanted. I also made my own duel disk, since the official toy ones really weren't up to par with what I wanted, and I wanted a very specific look on mine.

The card zones were in bronze, the arm of the disk was in silver, and the trim was in gold. There were two dragon heads at each end of the arm. The deck holder had a dragon claw covering it, to hold it in place, which I would flip up, when duelling. There was a slot for my smartphone, since I wanted to have the life points on a touchscreen. The graveyard was black, which I thought was appropriate, and the core of the disk was circular, with lines of gold and bronze on a silver background, in the style of Tron. I called it the Olympus duel disk.

I was walking home from a Yu-Gi-Oh tournament one day. I had managed to win, and gotten a fairly large sum of prize money for it. Nothing on the scale of the WCS, but definitely appreciated, so I was in a pretty good mood. Suddenly, there was a blinding light in front of me. I covered my eyes with my arm, but when I lowered it, there was this green egg-like shape floating in the air. Completely forgetting the saying 'Curiosity killed the cat', I walked up to it. Throwing all logic out the window at this point, I actually _poked_ it. In hindsight, not one of my smartest moments.

When I poked it, it felt like I was poking something spongey, but then it rippled. Strangely, I heard a voice. It was very faint. I only managed to hear ' _powerful famili…'_ , before I jerked my hand back, extremely confused. To try and hear more of what was being said, and against my better judgement, I poked the egg again. This time, a hole opened in the egg, and sucked my hand in. I heard the voice again, but didn't register what it said, as I was being pulled into the egg. "HELP!" I shouted, but it seemed that no-one else was able to hear me, because of this egg. It started shining, and it got brighter and brighter. Eventually I stopped resisting the force pulling me in, in order to not go blind, but that was the chance the egg needed. The force magnified by like 10 times, and I was gone in a second.

Falling.

I felt as though I was falling, but when I looked around, I saw that I was in space. Before I could fully register the situation, the falling sensation continued, and now I saw where I was falling to. It was green, just like the egg. "If I get stuck in an infinite loop, I swear I'm gonna hurt someone." I thought, as I closed my eyes, and waited for the impact.

When it finally came, it hurt much less than I expected it to. Sure, it winded me, but for how long I was falling, I should've died from that impact.

" _You… who are you?_ " I heard a voice say in what sounded like French. I'd studied it at high school, so I knew a bit, but not enough to effectively communicate with, or understand them. As I opened my eyes, I felt grass on my back, and saw a smoke cloud clearing, as though there had been an explosion, with me at the centre of it.

"Hmmm? Where am I?" I asked, confused. Looking around, I saw people in what looked to be a school uniform, with white shirts, black cloaks held on by a pentagram brooch at the chest area, and black trousers for the boys, and black skirts for the girls. At least I assumed that they were boys and girls. They looked to be around my age, if not a little bit younger. They all had shocked looks on their faces. Especially the one closest to me, who was wearing the same school uniform, except that she was shorter, and had pink hair and eyes. After what just happened, the fact that not just her hair, but her _eyes_ were pink, didn't even faze me.

Then I heard laughter from all of the students, except the one standing next to me. She quickly said something to a man in a robe, holding a large staff, which got thicker towards the top. I assume that he was the teacher, if this is actually a school. The teacher shook his head, and replied in what I think is French. The girl got a large blush, then turned to me, and said something else, including what I think is her name, but I couldn't really tell. She then leaned towards me, and kissed me. My eyes widened, and I felt all kinds of emotions: confusion, anger, fear, and sorrow, all at once.

She pulled back, and my entire body felt hot. I looked at my hands, and I saw that they were glowing a dim red. My left hand started burning _intensely_ , and I clutched it, trying to ease the pain. Eventually, a collection of symbols, spelling some sort of word appeared on the back of my hand. When the teacher saw it, he gasped. While all this was happening, the students kept laughing. I looked around, and saw… a castle!? At this, my eyes rolled into the back of my head, and I passed out.

When I woke up, I was on a bed of hay, in a fancy looking room. I shot up, wondering what kind of weird dream I'd had, but when I looked around, I registered that it wasn't a dream.

" _So you're finally awake."_ The pink-haired girl from before said. Surprised, I turned towards her, still unable to properly understand what she said.

"Who are you? Where am I? Why am I here?" I shouted, but it was obvious that she didn't understand me either.

Shrugging her shoulders, she took off her cloak, and placed it on the chair. Then she dropped her skirt, and took of her shirt, revealing her undergarments. This instantly drew a blush to my face, but due to my Caribbean heritage, it was difficult to see. Though it died instantly when she picked up the clothes, and proceeded to throw them at me. "What the hell are you doing?" I shouted.

" _Wash those._ " She said flatly. " _Even if you can't understand our language, a familiar should at least understand the message._ "

I did not at all understand the message. "Why the hell are you trying to seduce me?!" I shouted. "And you're doing a pretty terrible job at it!"

" _Ughh… What's with all the noise? All you do is chirp!_ " She said, covering her ears. " _Oh, I know! I'll use the silencing spell that I learnt last year!_ " She then raised her wand, and spoke some funky words. The tip of her wand glowed for a bit, confusing me, until an explosion sent me tumbling to the floor, burning the clothes that she had thrown at me.

"Darn! I was sure I did it right!" she said.

"Like hell! If you were trying to kill me, then maybe!" I shouted, jumping to my feet, and pointing at her accusatively.

She froze. "Wait. I understood that!"

"What?"

"I understood that! Say something else!"

"Okay. Who are you? What's with that wand? Where are we? Why am I here? Why are you half-naked? And why did you try to blow me up?"

"I am Louise Françoise Le Blanc de la Valliére. To answer your question, I summoned you. What's your name?"

"I'm Carlton Johnson. Why did you summon me?"

"As a familiar."

"Eh?"

 _Elsewhere in the castle, the teacher from before was in a library, reading books relating to familiars. He eventually found a picture of the runes like those on my hand, and said "I knew I didn't recognise that rune from any previous familiar. I must tell Principal Osmond."_

"So this is the country of Tristain, on the continent of Halkeginia? And you're a student at the institute of magic?" I asked Louise, who was giving me a briefing on where I was.

"I won't allow a familiar to call me 'you'. My name is Louise. Louise de la Valliére."

"So, Louise, I'm this familiar that you summoned, and I'm just supposed to be your servant for the rest of my life?"

"Pretty much." She sighed, rubbing her eyes. Chance! "Of course I get a peasant boy as a familiar. I wanted something cool, like a dragon or a griffon."

By the time she finished her sentence, I was out of the room, and down at least 2 flights of stairs.

" _My familiar ran away?! You have got to be joking!" Louise said._

"She can keep her crazy in her room. I don't know if this is some extreme LARP, or I'm in a coma, or what, but I can't stay here any longer!" I shouted, as I ran down a spiral staircase, which I hoped would take me to the ground floor, and out of this place.

I got to a door, which I sprinted through, but when I realised the hallway wasn't empty, I hid back in the door way. In the hall, I saw one of the students who had been present when I'd woken up. He had blond hair, and his shirt wasn't buttoned all the way up, to expose part of his chest. Every aspect of him, from his hairstyle, to the rose in his hand screamed Casanova. He was talking to a girl who hadn't been there when I'd woken up. She had brown hair, and a brown cloak, so I assumed that they were in different years.

"I'm good at baking soufflés." The girl said.

"I would love to try one." The Casanova replied.

"Really?" The girl asked, clasping her hands together.

"Of course, Katy. I wouldn't lie to your eyes." The Casanova replied.

"Guiche-sama!" The girl, Katy, said, with adoration in her voice. Hold up, since when did French people use honorifics?!

"There is nothing hidden behind my feelings for you." The Casanova, whose name I now knew as Guiche, said.

I took this chance to try and sneakily crawl past them, but I heard Guiche say, "Hmmm? Isn't that the peasant that Louise summoned?"

"Crap!" I hissed, crawling a little faster.

"In today's ritual?" Katy said. "It caused quite a ruckus among the first-years as well."

"He fainted suddenly and stopped moving. It was a real bother." Guiche said. Whilst he was talking, I tried to walk away, but he said "Hold on, you."

I turned around. "Yes?"

"A peasant giving a noble trouble, and not a semblance of gratitude?" he said, quite condescendingly, may I add.

"Is that so? Thanks. Then, I'll be seeing you!" I said, and turned around to walk off. "Irritating jerk." I mumbled.

Then I heard footsteps rushing down the stairs. I tensed up. "Crap!" I said, and I ran off.

" _A restless fellow." Guiche said, putting his hand up in exasperation. Louise then entered the hallway, clearly annoyed. "Louise, your familiar just passed by." Guiche said._

" _Catch him!" Louise said._

" _Eh?"_

" _He ran away."_

" _The familiar with whom you sealed a contract? Nothing less from your familiar, Louise. Common sense doesn't apply to it."_

" _Don't be impressed by it, help me!" Louise said, her irritation growing._

" _I've no choice." Guiche said._

I approached what must be the ground floor hallway, and I saw another one of the students who was there when I woke up, this time, it was a girl, who I recalled said whatever it was that made everyone laugh.

I panted, with my hands on my knees, after that bout of sprinting. I looked to my right, and saw a doorway which led to… the outside! "Yes, an exit!" I shouted.

The girl, and the guy she was snuggling up to, both looked at me as I ran towards the exit. The guy said, "That guy… isn't he the one that Louise the Zero…"

"Yes, the peasant familiar." The girl finished.

Just then I heard Louise shout "Ah! There he is!", causing me to run even faster, and out the door.

" _Right." Guiche said._

" _Hey, what are you guys doing?" The girl asked._

" _Oh, just listen to this!" Guiche started._

" _Knock it off! He's getting away!" Louise said, storming towards the exit._

I jumped down the staircase, landing on the ground, and kept running. "What crap are they spouting about magic? I have to get out of this crazy place…" As I ran, I noticed I wasn't gaining any forward distance, and looked down to see that my feet weren't on the ground. I was levitating! But not of my own free will. Thus, I freaked out.

"H-h-help me! I'm gonna fall!" I shouted.

"Give yourself up." I heard the arrogant voice of Guiche say. "This is the second time I've kept you afloat." He waved his rose around, causing me to move around in the air. That was not fun, I'll tell you now. "Is this for real?" I said.

I then heard laughter from below me, and saw the girl and boy from the ground floor hallway walking out, the girl in fits of laughter. "A familiar that runs from his master? It's just too funny!" she said, clutching her stomach.

"Then, this is…" I began. Guiche then stopped waving me about, and I looked up, and froze. There was not one, but two moons in the sky! One was larger, and blue-green, while the other was smaller, about the size of Earth's moon, and red-pink. "You're kidding me!" I shouted.

We were back in Louise's room, and she had me chained up, to ensure that I didn't run away again.

"Earth?" Louise asked.

"Yeah! Up until this afternoon, I was in London, England, on Earth." I replied

"I don't believe it. For such a different world to exist…"

"I don't want to believe it either! Anyway, take me home!"

"Impossible."

"Don't just say that so simply!" I shouted, but I stopped when Louise threw her cloak over my face.

"No matter who it is or where they're from, the contract is absolute." Louise said as she was… undressing?!

She threw the rest of her clothes at me. "What are you doing?" I questioned.

"I'm changing for bed." She said, seemingly confused at the question. She clicked her fingers, and the candles in the room went out.

I looked at the candles, and back at her, and saw that she was taking off… her undergarments?! My eyes bulged out, before I quickly covered them. "Don't do that when I'm here!" I said.

"Why?"

"You're fine with a guy watching you do that stuff?" I asked, and she threw her blouse at me.

"A guy? You're nothing more than a familiar."

"What?!" I said, but she threw her panties at me. I looked at them, and panicked for a second, dropping them to the floor.

Louise put her sleeping dress on, and started getting into bed. "Okay, wash those for me."

"Wait. Why do I have to wash your lingerie?" I asked, holding up her panties. "I don't know whether to be happy or upset about this…" I said, with a slight blush on my face. I shook it off, reminding myself, "This is where I'm supposed to be upset!" She dragged me from my homeworld, and made me into her personal servant. That was kidnapping! "Hey, I'm never doing you laundr-"

"And who do you think will be taking care of you?" That was a good point. "You're my familiar, right? Cleaning, laundry, errands… those are to be expected. Make sure to have my clothes ready by morning. Don't worry. If you do your work right, you'll get fed."

"Fed? Are you treating me like a dog or something?!" Okay, now she was really starting to annoy me. But, she was sleeping, so I would lay into her in the morning, with more than a few choice words, and maybe a bit of force. "Well, for now, I guess what happens, happens." I crawled over to my hay bed, and prepared to turn in for the night, when I remembered my Yu-Gi-Oh cards. If only their effects were real. I drew the Trap card "Raptor's Gust". I probably could've used it to propel me away from the school, but now that I was chained that was a no-go. I put in one of the spell and trap zones of my duel disk, and to my shock and amazement, a small ball of wind appeared in my hand. No. Freaking. Way. They work.

But I only had my Raidraptor cards with me. They could only help me try to make an escape on bird back, but not actually fight back when they tried to capture me. I drew another card, and it was "Swords of Concealing Light". Placing it in the spell and trap zone, I turned invisible, but could somehow still see. I guessed that magic really doesn't have to follow the laws of science, or is so advanced that it creates its own laws. One problem. I didn't know how to become visible again. I removed the card from the spell and trap zone, but I stayed invisible. Then I had an idea. "Swords of Revealing Light" should be the opposite, so it should negate the invisibility! But I didn't run it in Raidraptors. " _Draw the card._ " I felt something say. It was like an inner voice, but it wasn't mine. Taking a leap of faith, I drew the next card, willing it to be "Swords of Revealing Light". I flipped it over to look, and… it was! I activated it, and after a very short burst of light, I was properly visible again. Anyway, I decided to pick a card that I knew for a fact would not be in Raidraptors, "Super Quantum Blue Layer". I willed myself to draw it, and when I drew the card, it was! I tried summoning her, but she was only about 5 inches tall. Luckily she could speak. I asked her, "Why are you so small? I thought you were the size of a regular human?"

" **Look at the situation you're in, sir. If a full grown human were to appear here, there would be a huge ruckus. You unconsciously held back on my size, to ensure that I would be able to talk to you, but not disturb her.** " She said, pointing to Louise.

"Good point. Anyway, can I summon all duel monsters like this?"

" **I think the best person to answer that is Alphan**."

"Good point." I drew "Super Quantal Fairy Alphan", and summoned her, and just like Blue Layer, she appeared in the real world, although she was a little shorter, about 4 inches tall. "Pleasure to meet you, Alphan."

" **The pleasure is mine, sir.** " Alphan replied. " **I hear you have some questions.** "

"Yes, well one mainly. How am I able to summon actual duel monsters?"

" **Simple.** " Alphan replied. " **Magic.** "

"Seriously?"

" **Seriously. You have magic.** "

"Amazing."

" **Well, you did collect every single duel monster to ever exist officially. You think just anyone can do that?** "

"Fair point. Anyway, I'll save the rest of my questions for tomorrow. I need to get some sleep."

" **Smart. Sleep is especially important for you, so you can recharge your mana.** "

"Huh?"

" **In order to summon duel monsters, you need mana, just like you need it for any other magic. You also need mana to use spell and trap effects.** "

"That makes sense."

" **Of course. If you summon higher level monsters, it will cost more mana to maintain them in the real world.** "

"Also makes sense. Any important information about spells and traps?"

" **They have a higher cost, since they take mana in one burst. You don't have to maintain it, but you have to have more to give.** "

"Seems fair."

" **And that's the basic rundown. Summon me again tomorrow, and I'll walk you through some more of the important information.** "

"Sure thing. Thanks a lot Alphan."

" **It's my pleasure, sir.** "

I removed their cards from my duel disk, and I noticed that I was feeling a little more tired than before. "Huh. Maybe this is my body telling me to restore my mana." And with that, I went to sleep.


	2. It's time to d-d-d-d-d-d-d-DUEL!

Chapter 2 – It's time to d-d-d-d-d-d-DUEL!

Morning rolled around, and I was up bright and early. I was feeling refreshed after using up a fair amount of mana last night. 2 spells, 2 monsters and a trap takes its toll on someone who's just a beginner. I decided that I would do as Louise said for now, as long it was reasonable, learn some more about this world, and eventually find my way home. "Gate to a Different Dimension" may work, but then again, it may not, and send me somewhere completely different. Not an optimal conclusion.

Pushing those thoughts aside, I pulled back Louise's blanket. This woke her up. She stretched her arms, and turned to me, tiredly asking "Who are you?" I wasn't really in the mood to deal with her, so I just tossed her clothes on her, saying, "Here are your clothes. You're the one that told me to have them ready in the morning."

She sat up, and rubbed her eyes, saying, "Oh… the familiar… That's right, I summoned one yesterday. And the underwear?"

"You can get those for yourself at least!"

"You can go without a meal." I froze. She gestured with her head. "In the bottom drawer."

"But if I'm going to go without a meal anyway, why would I still get it for you?" I questioned.

"So you don't miss two meals." She said.

God, this girl is driving me up the wall! Thankfully, I had some spell cards that would summon some food to eat. The food wouldn't restore my mana, like I hypothesised that normal food would, but it would make sure that my body didn't go without food.

Grunting, I kneeled down in front of the drawer, and opened it. "Why me…" I sighed, pulling out a pair of panties. Registering what was in my hand; I panicked, and threw it behind me, onto Louise's bed.

"Hey, can you take this thing off me already?" I said, gesturing to the collar around my neck. I knew I could do it myself, with my magic, but something told me to save it for later, and besides, I wanted to see the look of disbelief on her face when I summoned something like "Blue Eyes White Dragon", and wrecked face.

"No."

"I won't run away! I've been brought to this place that makes no sense whatsoever!" I turned around and said, but I froze when I saw that she was just in her panties. Man, she really is a loli. Look at how flat- Anyway, I decided to turn and look at the drawer, saying "So where do you think I'm going to run off to?!"

"Shut up! Fine!" She threw her shirt at me.

"What is it now?" I asked.

"Dress me."

"You can put your own clothes on."

"Nobles that have servants never dress themselves!"

"What do you mean nobles? Don't go acting all-"

"I see!" She said. "I guess you won't be needing a meal then! And you want to keep the chain on too?"

That put some fire out from my resolve. I really didn't want to use my magic to get free and eat, so I relented. But I came this close to just summoning "Elemental Hero Burstinatrix" and being done with it.

Once Louise was dressed, I said, "It's a promise. Now take this thing off."

"I guess I have no choice." She took the key, and unlocked the collar around my neck. As she did so, I admired her face. She really would be cute if she just kept her trap shut.

Once it was off, I rubbed my neck, as the collar had been chafing my skin a little bit.

"Let's go." Louise said, picking up her wand.

"Where to?"

"To breakfast, of course."

The cafeteria screamed Hogwarts, with ridiculously long tables at which the students sat.

I heard the redhead from yesterday saying to a blonde girl with tight curls in her hair, "They're here. The runaway familiar and his master…"

When Louise stopped walking, I look at the table, and saw a feast fit for someone as stuck up as her, and let it be known as such, minus the stuck up part.

"Hurry up and pull the chair back. You really are inconsiderate." Louise said.

"Yeah, sure, sure." I said, pulling back the chair. When she sat down, I looked at the plate next to her, and said, "Is today some kind of anniversary? This is quite the meal, this early in the morning!" Turning to Louise I merely saw her pointing downwards. "Sorry, I just haven't eaten anything since yesterday, so…" I looked down to where she was pointing, and saw an old plate on the floor. "Is that for… me?"

"Only nobles can sit here. You, peasant, sit on the floor." You know, I was really getting tired of the whole noble, peasant thing. The other students started laughing, and I knew that it would be a long day.

"O great founder Brimir and Her Royal Highness, we are once again grateful for the humble meal that you have brought us this morning."

"The humble meal's right here." I muttered, looking at my solitary piece of bread on the old plate on the floor. I was kneeling next to Louise's seat, and as I picked up the bread, and bit into it, I found that it was stale! I swear, one of these days, I'm gonna teach all these stuck up nobles the true meaning of humility!

After breakfast, we were walking out to the courtyard, and Louise said, "Normally, familiars wait outside during a meal. I specially let you stay with me." Oh, how generous. Not.

"If that's the case, I'd rather eat elsewhere!" I said. Then I saw all of the students from when I was summoned sitting at tables in the courtyard, with their familiars. "What are they doing?"

"All second-years have the day off today. We're all supposed to communicate with our newly summoned familiars." Yeah, like I'd want to communicate with you.

"Oh?" I heard a voice say from behind me. I turned around, and was met with a scaly, reptilian face, which honestly scared the bejeezus out of me. "It's some red thing!" I shouted.

"Is this the first time you've seen a salamander?" The redhead, who was obviously its master, said.

"Keep it on a leash! That was dangerous!"

"It's fine. Familiars under contract faithfully obey every order from their master." This, I could tell, was a dig at Louise. Getting a good look at the redhead, she was pretty hot. She had tan skin, and her chest was, well-endowed, let's say. But that didn't make up for her bitchiness towards Louise. "And they never run away. Isn't that right, Flame?" She said, stroking the lizard's head. It let out a noise of approval, and wagged its tail.

"Don't give me that!" Louise shouted.

"Louise, did you just sneak in a peasant that was walking around the area? You covered it up pretty well with the explosion, but that would explain why he tried to run away." The redhead said.

"That's not true! I made the summons properly!" Louise defended. "This guy just happened to show up!" Thanks for the vote of confidence.

"Well, he's very befitting of Louise the Zero." The redhead said, smugly. She then laughed and walked off. What a bitch.

"What's wrong with that wench?" Louise hissed, balling up her fist. She then turned to me, and said, "Don't just stand there! Bring me some tea, at least!" and walked off.

I was walking along the courtyard, somewhat dejected, when a giant purple eyeball flew in front of me, surprising me, and causing me to stumble backwards, into someone walking behind me. This caused her to drop what she was holding, and turning around, I saw that it was a slice of cake. What a shame.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" I quickly apologised.

"No, it's alright." She replied. I noticed that he was wearing a maid's outfit.

She reached to pick up the slice at the same time I did, causing our hands to brush past each other, and we both recoiled, with slight blushes on our faces. Looking at her, she had black hair, grey eyes, and she was really pretty. I actually did a double take. She also looked somewhat familiar. I'd obviously never met her before, since she was from an alternate dimension, but there was something about her that felt, almost nostalgic.

"Excuse me." She said, a bit shyly.

"No, please excuse me." I replied, picking up the cake. We both stood up, and I returned the cake back to the plate that she was carrying it on. The maid looked at my hand, and asked, "Are you the familiar that Miss Valliére summoned?"

"That same one. How do you know about me?"

"There have been rumours all over the school of a peasant being summoned as a familiar."

Scratching my cheek, I remarked, "Honestly, I don't really understand this whole noble and peasant business."

"Hmmm? Isn't it just that people who can use magic are nobles, and if they can't, they're peasants?"

"Oh, is that how it is? No-one ever explained it to me. So, are you a mage then?"

"Quite the contrary. I am Siesta, and I have the privilege of working here as a maid. I'm a peasant, just like you."

"I'm Carlton Johnson. Call me Carlton."

"Mr. Carlton? That's an odd name."

"Yeah, I get that a lot."

"Hey!" We heard someone call from a table far away. It was Guiche. "Is the cake ready yet?"

"Coming right up!" Siesta replied, motioning to leave with the cake that had fallen on the floor. But I took it from her.

"I'll take it to him." I said.

"But that's-"

"It's fine." I said, recalling last night, when Guiche was flinging me about through the air. "This is all that that brat deserves."

I walked up to the table he was sitting at, with the girl who the redhead had been talking to in the Cafeteria. I heard someone call her Montmorency.

"I was talking to Verdande all night long." Guiche said, gently stroking the fur of the mole familiar.

"I see… All night…" Montmorency slightly sweatdropped.

"Yes… These intelligent eyes… This sensual texture… She was truly destined to be my familiar!"

"In any case, keep it buried, when you're with me." Wow, is every noble this stuck up?

"Order up! Thanks for waiting!" I said, placing the slice of cake on the table that they were sitting at.

"Oh, and bring some more tea as well." Guiche said, not noticing that I served it.

Montmorency was gently stroking her familiar, a small frog, and Guiche said, "Your familiar is so cute, just like you."

"Hm. You're always such a flatterer." Montmorency replied.

"I won't lie to your eyes."

"I heard rumours that you're dating a first-year recently." Guiche recoiled.

"Such nonsense! There is nothing hidden-" Guiche began.

"-behind my feelings for you… wasn't it?" I finished smugly, catching Guiche by surprise, as both he and Montmorency turned to look at me as I walked off.

"What are you…?" Guiche began.

"Oh, I get it! The colour of the cape is different for each of the different years. Black for second-years. So the girl with the brown cloak last night was a first year. I see… Did you ever try any of the soufflé?" I said, trying to throw him under the bus as much as possible.

Montmorency turned to Guiche, asking, "What is he talking about?"

"Hurry up and go back to your business, waiter!" Guiche said, flustered.

"Ah. That's where you're wrong. I am no waiter." I said, turning towards him. Just someone who has a problem with you.

"You're the one that Louise the Zero…" Guiche began.

"Thanks for everything last night." I said, making sure that he knew that that was why I was doing this to him. "See ya."

Montmorency asked Guiche again, "What was that all about?"

"Oh, yes… You know, I told you, right?" Guiche began. "I had to deal with that peasant familiar last night, that's all." But both he and I saw Katy walking up at the same time, looking for Guiche. A smile came to my face, whereas Guiche looked like someone had kicked him in his nether region, and judging by how this is going, that certainly might happen. "Montmorency, it's far too rowdy here. Let's go talk under that tree over there. Hurry now…" he said, dragging her off to the new destination.

Katy looked around, worried, saying "Guiche-sama, where are you?"

I, ever the gentleman, decided to help the damsel in distress, saying, "If you're looking for Guiche, he's over there!" pointing to the place where he tried to hide.

Her eyes lit up when she saw him. "Guiche-sama!" she called out. I almost felt bad for her, but remembered that this was to teach Guiche a lesson, so a little bit of collateral wasn't really my problem.

"Ah, Katy!" Guiche said nervously, as she ran up to him. He quickly put on a façade of confidence, as he let go of Montmorency.

"I've been looking all over for you, Guiche-sama!" Katy said. Montmorency's eyes slitted as she stared at Guiche. "I thought I'd bring my homemade soufflé that I talked about last night, to the tea party today."

"Oh, that's very…" Guiche started.

"Last night?" Montmorency questioned. The righteous feminine fury was beginning to seep out of her, and fill the air.

"Well, that is…" Guiche started again, trying to diffuse the situation.

"Good for you!" I called out. "You were saying that you would _love_ to have some of it."

"You!" Guiche said, visibly starting to panic.

"It's nothing. Just telling the truth, right?" I replied, somewhat smugly.

"Guiche, what's the meaning of this?!" Montmorency questioned, even more harshly than before, with the righteous feminine fury coming out even more intensely. Even I cringed a little bit.

"What is it that you're going on about?" Guiche asked me, clearly trying to divert attention away from himself. "You're going to found needless misunderstandings with these ladies!"

"What's going on?" One of the other students in the courtyard asked. The whole debacle was garnering quite a lot of attention.

"Guiche is picking a fight with that peasant familiar."

"What part of it is a misunderstanding?" I asked. "You're the one at fault for two-timing."

Guiche froze.

"Two-timing?!" Katy exclaimed. How she hadn't picked up on that before I outright said it was beyond me.

"So there really was something going on with this first-year!" Montmorency shouted. The feminine fury was coming out in droves now, and I think I finally reached the point I was trying to. She clenched her fists, and gritted her teeth in frustration.

"Please, Montmorency the Perfume…" Guiche started, using her title to try and get on her good side, "Do not contort your face, one as beautiful as a rose, from anger!" Okay seriously, do these people have a shred of common sense? I think Guiche may have just made it worse for himself. "This is all a misunder-"

"How horrible!" Katy said. "You said I was the only one!"

"In any case, both of you calm down." Guiche desperately tried to diffuse the situation, but those were **not** the words to use to do it. He has made it so much worse for himself, in like 2 sentences; I'm surprised that no one found out about this earlier.

"Liar!" Both girls shouted.

*SLAP!*

There's what I was waiting for!

Guiche fell to the ground, a red handprint on his left cheek, from where Montmorency had slapped him, earning laughter from the students surrounding us.

"You just got dumped, Guiche!" One student laughed, "Well, you deserved what you got."

I wanted to fall to the floor laughing, but was able to suppress it to a mere chuckle.

Guiche looked at me with hard eyes, saying, "It seems that you do not know how to pay respect to nobility."

"Well, respect is earned. No matter how high your status, if you go around messing with people's feelings, you certainly won't get my respect. There's a saying where I come from. 'Treat others how you want to be treated.' If you don't show basic decency, you won't be shown basic decency."

"Hm. Very well then."

[Next scene – same place]

"A duel?" I asked.

"That's right. I challenge you to a duel!" Guiche said. "You are nothing but a peasant, and a familiar to boot. Yet you have mocked me, and on top of that, you have made two ladies cry!"

"Cry? They were both hopping mad!" I replied, causing the crowd to break out into laughter again. "And even so, it's your fault for two-timing!"

"Silence! Prepare yourself! I'll be waiting at Vestri Square in one hour!" Guiche said, walking off.

I chuckled as I watched him walk away. Siesta ran up to me, looking like she was about to cry. She mumbled something, which I didn't quite catch.

"Eh? What was that?" I asked.

"You won't survive!" Siesta shouted, as she ran away, with tears in her eyes.

I chased after her, and eventually caught up to her. When I finally did, I grabbed her wrist, spun her around, and hugged her, as she sobbed into my shirt. When she calmed down a bit, I held her by her shoulders, and looked her in the eyes. "Siesta." I said. "I'm not going to lose."

"But peasants can't fight nobles!" Siesta cried. "You'll be lucky to get away with only a few injuries!"

"Don't worry about me." I said. "I have a plan. Could you help me find a secluded area, so I can get ready?"

"Sure." Siesta said, clearly not believing me, but appreciating the hope I was giving her.

When she brought me to a secluded area, she left to continue with her duties. Once she had left, I summoned Alphan, and had a crash course on how to best use the abilities I had available to me at that point.

 _Whilst Carlton was having his crash course, the headmaster was having a discussion with the teacher from Louise's summoning ceremony._

" _No previous case exists of a peasant familiar." The headmaster said._

" _That is not the problem here." The professor said. "I didn't recognise the familiar's rune that appeared on him, so I looked it up, and it was strikingly similar to this." He handed over a book to the headmaster, on the page detailing the rune on Carlton's hand._

 _The headmaster's eyes widened. "Miss Longueville, could you please give us some privacy?"_

" _Understood." The green-haired secretary replied, giving a slight bow as she left._

After my crash course, I had a much better understanding of how to use my powers, and even did a couple of summons. It actually worked similarly to how it did in duel monsters. Level 1-4 monsters could be summoned with no cost, 5-6 needed one tribute, and 7+ needed two tributes. Since I wasn't actually playing duel monsters, revealing monsters wasn't really a cost, so monsters that needed to be summoned by revealing something would require that, as well as one tribute, although as my magic grows stronger, some of the summoning conditions will change, to complement my increased prowess, according to Alphan. Armed with this knowledge, I made my way to Vestri Court, with the help of a couple of students. When I arrived, Guiche was already there, along with a crowd of students.

"You deserve some praise, for actually showing up, and not running off." Guiche said smugly. A backhanded compliment, but I'll take it.

"Wait!" Louise shouted. Damn, I forgot about her. "That's enough, Guiche! Duels are forbidden!"

"Only duels between nobles are forbidden. He is a peasant." He said, pointing to me with his rose. "There are no problems."

"That's because nothing like this has ever happened…" Louise said.

"That's enough, Louise." I said. "I accepted his challenge, so this duel is happening."

"I don't want to hear that from you. Apologise to Guiche right now!" Louise ordered.

"No."

"What?!"

"What part didn't you understand?"

"Grrr…" Louise growled.

"Anyway, Guiche, what are the conditions for victory?" I asked, ignoring Louise.

"The first person to surrender, or lose consciousness loses."

"Very well then. Let's get started shall we?"

"But of course. My name is Guiche the Bronze!" Guiche said, waving his rose, causing a single petal to fall to the ground. When it hit, a tower of light shot up, and a metal golem rose from the ground. "As such, my Bronze Valkyrie shall be your opponent!"

The Valkyrie shot forward, landing a solid jab at my stomach. I keeled over, somewhat surprised by the sudden attack. Go figure.

"Now do you get it?" Louise asked, coming to my side. "Peasants can't beat nobles!"

"Move." I said, standing up.

"Oh? Did I go too easy on you?" Guiche asked.

"You just caught me off guard with your surprise attack."

"Why are you getting up, fool?" Louise asked.

"He irritates me." I responded.

"Eh?"

"Peasants, nobles, whatever. It makes you all act needlessly snobbish, thinking that you're better than everyone else."

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Louise shouted defensively.

"Well, I would feel bad for breaking something Louise owns, so if you apologise now, I'll forget what happened." Guiche said, smugly.

"Do it!" Louise ordered.

"Not a chance!" I smirked, knowingly. "I've been in this place for a day, and everyone's seen what's on my arm, but no one thought to ask what it was."

"Isn't it just a trinket from your world?" Louise asked.

"It was." I responded. "But now, it's so much more!" I exclaimed, drawing a card. "I activate Big Bang Shot!" I said, placing the card on the duel disk. With that, both my hands, and both my feet set alight, but didn't cause me any pain. In fact, the flames made me feel stronger.

I quickly glanced around, and everyone had frozen, even Guiche and Louise. You could hear a pin drop. Every student's jaw was at the floor, and the looks on their faces made it worth letting that Valkyrie punch me the first time. I could've dodged it, but I needed to see how dense the metal was, to determine which spell I needed to use.

"Close your mouths. You'll catch flies." I said coolly. "Now, have at thee!" I shouted, charging at Guiche's Valkyrie.

This seemed to snap Guiche out of his stupor, as he quickly shook his head, and sent the Valkyrie towards me, swinging its spear. I ducked under it, and landed a right hook right in its stomach, causing the construct to fall into dozens of pieces of armour, before disappearing.

"One hit!" I heard one student say. "He took down Guiche's Valkyrie in one hit!"

"What kind of fire magic is that? Does it reinforce your punches?"

More students started murmuring about me, but I wasn't really paying attention, as I was eyeing Guiche, seeing what he would do next.

"Hm. You think you've won?!" He exclaimed, but I could hear the panic in his voice. "Think again!" he shouted, waving his rose 8 times, summoning 8 more Valkyries.

I wasn't really a fan of the odds here, so I decided to do a little summoning of my own. I drew "Super Quantum Red Layer", and special summoned him, chanting, " **Burn, flames of passion! Ignite with righteous fury and burn your foes with blazing grandeur! Special Summon! Level 5! Super Quantum Red Layer!** " A pillar of fire shot up from the ground next to me, and from it, stepped a warrior, clad in robotic armour, based on a lion. His hands had wolverine claws on them, as well as his feet. He had a red visor, and was emanating a heat like I had never before seen. It was amazing, especially seeing everyone's faces when they thought I had summoned my own familiar.

" **What can I do for you, boss?** " Red Layer asked.

"I need you to hold these guys back for a little bit, whilst I summon Blue Layer and Green Layer. Is that cool?"

" **Sure, no problem!** " Red Layer replied. " **Let's dance, you metal-faced freaks!** " He shouted, running towards them, and when he reached them, he went to town. He was jumping around, hitting some with choke slams, and even managed to hit one with a fiery version of The People's Elbow. As this was going on, I drew "Super Quantum Green Layer" and normal summoned him, chanting, " **Blow, winds of change! Fly by with gale force speeds, and strike your foes with raging squall! Normal Summon! Level 4! Super Quantum Green Layer!** " A tornado was created next to me, and from it, stepped a spellcaster, like myself, clad in a green trenchcoat, with a staff, glowing green lines along his body, and his helmet had a green visor, and the top had what appeared to be a bird head on it. A gentle breeze came from him as he stepped forward, awaiting instruction.

" **How can I be of service, sir?** " He asked, in a British accent.

"I need your power, to let me special summon Blue Layer. Are you ready?"

" **For you, sir, always.** " He replied. Huh, he sort of reminded me of Jarvis. " **Let's begin.** "

"Right." I said, drawing four cards. "I activate Green Layer's special power!" His staff glowed with a strong green light. I then began to chant, " **Swirl, seas of wisdom! Surge with Poseidon's force, and charm your foes with your graceful showers! Special Summon! Level 3! Super Quantum Blue Layer!** " A pillar of water shot up next to me, and from it, stepped a psychic, identical to the one I summoned the day before, except that she was a full size human. She was wearing blue armour, with gold shields on each of her forearms. Her armour formed a skirt at her waist, and the front part was white, with glowing blue lines running across it. Her helmet had dolphin fins on it, with red ribbons hanging from the back. Her visor was blue, and the helmet was loosely based on a dolphin.

" **Alphan said that you'd found yourself in a spot of trouble.** " Blue Layer said.

"Yeah… we'll talk about it later. In the meantime, could you help me out?"

" **Sure thing, sir!** " Blue exclaimed, as she started sending psychic bolts at the Valkyries.

As my warriors engaged Guiche's in battle, I spared a glance at our audience. They were speechless, and some of the guys had nosebleeds from seeing Blue Layer. She did have a pretty good figure.

"I activate One for One!" I sent "Necro Gardna" to the graveyard, and summoned the final member of the Super Quantum team whilst Green and Blue sent magic and psychic bolts at the Valkyries. Red held off the new Valkyries that Guiche was trying to create, but due to his panic, none of them were strong enough to take more than one hit. I chanted, " **Shine, light of divinity! Cut through the darkness and blind your foes with holy splendour! Special Summon! Level 1! Super Quantal Fairy Alphan!** " A pillar of light shot up from next to me, and out floated what appeared to be a rabbit/robot hybrid. It was pure white, with blue eyes, and robotic paws. It had black spikes protruding from its back, forming an "X", and a large ring around its neck, with four blue panels on it, equally spaced from each other. This was my mentor, "Super Quantal Fairy Alphan"!

" **I'm ready to help, sir!** " she said excitedly. " **Do you need me to call out another layer?** "

"Not this time." I replied. "For this, I need you."

" **Oh, you're doing** _ **that?**_ "

"That's right!" I said. "Let's go!"

The layers and I each took on two Valkyries, with Alphan providing strategy and support.

Red looked like he had turned into Muhammad Ali. He had a perfect boxing form, landing two jabs and a cross on both of his opponents. He then lit his hand on fire, and punched the ground, causing a small shockwave that knocked them off-balance.

Green was expertly dodging the spear thrusts of the Valkyries, and shooting small bullets of wind at them. He jumped in the air, and sent a tornado at them, knocking them down.

Blue was stringing her opponents along. She sent a psychic bolt at one, then somersaulted over the spear thrust of another, before launching a kick at its head, sending it flying. The other tried to spear her head, but she got down into a split, before sending a psychic bolt directly at its midsection, knocking it into the other.

I dodged the spear thrust of one of my enemies, and hit the other with a dropkick, knocking it down, but not destroying it. I turned to the other, and swept its feet, disorienting it, and giving me a chance to relay a final command. "Guess what time it is, guys!"

" **I believe I may know.** " Said Green.

" **I've been waiting for this!** " said Blue.

" **Let's go!** " shouted Red.

" **It's climax time!** " We all shouted in unison.

 **BGM – Say the Kyuranger**

As my opponents got back up, I pushed all of my magic power into my hands, then grabbed them both by their collars, and threw them into the air. Red smashed his fists on the ground causing pillars of fire to shoot his opponents into the air. Blue used psychic power to fling them into the air, and Green used a tornado.

"I activate Super Quantal Mech Ship Magnacarrier!" I placed the card in the field zone, and a giant silver hovercraft appeared above our heads.

Guiche looked like he was about to wet his pants. I was enjoying every second of it. I didn't actually need the ship for this; I just wanted to scare him. It appeared to be working.

"Let's finish this!" I called out. Blue arranged all of the Valkyries into a downwards slope, pointing towards Guiche.

"I activate Super Quantal Alphan Spike!" I shouted. I nodded to Alphan, and she nodded back. With that, Alphan floated over to Blue, and surrounded herself with a white forcefield, that looked similar to a volleyball.

" **Blue!** " Alphan called out.

" **Got it!** " Blue used some of her psychic power to send the volleyball towards Green, the volleyball turning blue in the process. " **Green!** " she called.

" **On it!** " Green said. He caught the ball in a tornado, and swirled it around himself, turning it green, before shooting it towards Red. " **Red!** " He called out.

" **Got it!** " Red shouted, kicking the ball skyward just as it reached him, turning it red. " **Boss!** " He called out.

"Here we go!" I shouted. "I activate Raptor's Gust!" With this, a tornado swirled around me, as I started speeding towards the ball. Just as the ball was about to fall, I flipped in the air, so my feet were pointing upwards, then I dispelled the tornado. "SHOOOOOOT!" I shouted, kicking the ball with all of my might, turning it yellow as all of our powers combined, and setting it on fire from the speed that it was travelling. It barrelled through the line of Valkyries, and looked like it was about to hit Guiche…

*CRASH!*

 **End BGM**

There was an explosion of dust, which I used as cover for Green to lower me safely. I noticed that Guiche was mostly unhurt, if not a bit dirty, from being sent flying backwards. I activated Super Quantal Mech Sword Magnaslayer, and held it to his throat as he opened his eyes. With me were my mentor and three layers. It must have been quite the sight, from the look on Guiche's, and everyone else's, face. "Well, Guiche." I began. "Do you-"

"I surrender! I surrender! Please don't hurt me!" Guiche cried out.

"Good." I said, letting my sword disappear. "Thanks guys." I said, turning to my team.

" **No problem, boss!** " Red said.

" **It's certainly been a while since we had such a thrill.** " Green said.

" **Just call us out again if you need our help.** " Blue said.

"I will." I nodded. At that second, the flames on my hands and feet went out, and the layers and fairy began to dissolve into motes of light.

" **Well, it appears that time is up.** " Alphan said. " **Make sure you get some proper rest and a proper meal too. You're probably going to collapse after this.** **You really went all out.** "

"Hey, flashy opponent, flashy takedown. That's like, rule number one of being a superhero." I joked.

" **I guess that's true.** " Alphan laughed. " **Take care. And I have a small surprise for you after you wake up.** "

"Cool." I said. "See you then." And with that, they disappeared, with the motes going back into the cards from whence they came.

After my monsters had disappeared, Siesta ran up to me, and gave me a tight hug. "That was amazing, Carlton! I had no idea you could do that! You're like a superhero!"

"Heh, thanks Siesta." I said, tiredly.

"What's wrong?" Siesta asked.

"Oh, nothing." I shrugged. "I just used up all of my mana. I need to… pass out… for a bit…" and I let the darkness consume me.

"Mr. Carlton!" I heard faintly, as I blacked out.

So, that's it for Chapter 2! Let me know what you guys think of the fight scene. It was kind of difficult to make it both long and interesting, so I'm open to suggestions on how to improve it. Anyway, this is InfinityZer0, signing off.

Next chapter: We'll have some backstory!


	3. A lesson in history

Yu-Gi-Oh x Familiar of Zero Chapter 3 – A lesson in history

I was in the courtyard, washing Louise's underwear.

"All this stuff is needlessly lacy. It's almost impossible to wash it."

I gave a long sigh, thinking back to earlier that morning, when I was sent to do Louise's laundry.

 _I had woken up from my blackout the day before. Since I wasn't injured, I wasn't at risk of a coma or anything, but I had used up all of my mana, so I was completely exhausted. I had slept for two days before I woke up. Nothing interesting happened the day I woke up, there were just classes, and Louise tried to blow me up again for talking back to her. The usual._

 _The next morning, after I had woken up from my sleep, on my straw bed, Louise was already awake._

" _You overslept. My familiar should be there to wake me up every morning." Louise said._

" _Sorry, I guess I'm still somewhat drained from the duel. My mana takes a while to recharge."_

" _I decided to leave you yesterday, because you'd just woken up, but, now that you're awake, I want some answers."_

" _Sure thing. Ask away." I replied tiredly, still feeling a little bit groggy._

" _Who are you?"_

" _Carlton Johnson."_

" _No, I mean what noble family do you belong to?"_

" _I don't belong to a noble family."_

" _You're lying! You can use magic, therefore you must be a noble!"_

" _Didn't I tell you I was from another world? There's no reason to assume that just because I can use magic, I'm a noble."_

" _But Founder Brimir made it so!"_

" _Does it look like I give a damn?"_

 _That shut her up. I then decided to explain my powers, embellishing slightly._

" _In my world, there is a country called Egypt. Many thousand years ago, there was an empire in that country. It spanned far and wide, and gave birth to many stories and legends. But there is one that stood out among all of them. It is about the Shadow Games."_

" _Shadow Games? What are those?"_

" _Please save all questions until the end of the story."_

" _Shadow Games were events in which people would summon monsters, known as ka, from the Shadow Realm, an alternate dimension of endless darkness, in order to do battle. Shadow Games were played far and wide across the empire, the most skilled gaining massive respect and followings, but the very best was Pharaoh Atem, the King of Egypt._

 _However, nothing good lasts forever. The Pharaoh's uncle, brother of the previous Pharaoh, decided to create the millennium items, artefacts of great power, in order to make Egypt an even stronger military power. But they came at a terrible cost. In order to create the millennium items, the blood of 99 people was required, in order to perform a ritual to infuse the items with great power. So, the pharaoh's uncle went to a bandit village, called Kul Elna, and had his soldiers slay everyone in the village, for their blood to be collected."_

 _At this Louise gasped. Yu-Gi-Oh really did have a disturbing origin, but I couldn't tell her that it was just a card game._

" _Once the village had been slain, the ritual was performed, and seven items were imbued with great power. They were the Millennium Pendant, the Millennium Key, the Millennium Necklace, the Millennium Ring, the Millennium Eye, the Millennium Scale, and the Millennium Rod. The power in these items was used in Shadow Games, raising the stakes, as well as in war, but the universe has a way of punishing unforgivable acts._

 _There was actually a survivor of the Kul Elna massacre. His name was Bakura, and he wanted revenge for the genocide of his people. The souls of his slain brothers and sisters all merged together, into his own ka, known as Diabound, and with it, he sought to claim the Millennium items, and punish the royal family, who he blamed for the genocide._

 _He scoured the kingdom, participating in Shadow Games in order to increase his strength. Whenever he won, Diabound would absorb the powers of the ka he defeated, growing stronger with each battle. Eventually, he confronted the Pharaoh, but by this point, he had lost sight of his original goal, and merely sought destruction. This was due to the trauma, and the dark powers of the Millennium items. Luckily, the Pharaoh defeated him, but not permanently. They were in their own war, and many sacrifices were made to stop the darkness from spreading, including the Pharaoh's trusted friend, Mahad, who sacrificed himself in order to become the Dark Magician, ka of the Pharaoh._

 _As Bakura grew stronger, he grew darker as well, and even more evil and twisted. It turns out that the Millennium items were actually created by borrowing the power of a demon, and that demon's power was strongest in the millennium ring, which Bakura wore. Slowly, he started to become the demon, but didn't fight it, instead embracing the darkness. When he finally succumbed to the demon completely, the demon was born into my world. He was known as Zorc, the Dark one, and wanted to drive the world into eternal darkness. Luckily, Atem managed to stop him, by using three legendary monsters to weaken Zorc, then sacrificing himself to seal Zorc into the millennium ring, and sealing his own soul into the Millennium Pendant, which later shattered, becoming the Millennium Puzzle._

 _Millennia later, the Millennium Puzzle was solved by a teenager named Yugi Moto, infusing him with the soul of Atem. However, Atem had lost his memories. Upon his emergence, one of Yugi's friends found the Millennium Ring, infusing him with the combined souls of Zorc and Bakura. Their paths would not converge until much later, but until they met, Yugi and Atem went in search of Atem's memories, and went through many trials and tribulations. There was a card game, known as Duel Monsters, which was the next generation of Shadow Games, drawing power from the shadow realm, and this was the battlefield in which Yugi and Atem made their stand._

 _They duelled expertly, as though their lives depended on it, because in some cases, it did, and if they lost, they would have died._

 _Eventually, they entered the world of the Pharaoh's memories, but it was limited by what the Pharaoh remembered. Yugi and his friends managed to restore the rest of the Pharaoh's memories using their bond with Atem, and this allowed them to defeat Zorc permanently. Using the three legendary monsters, Atem used all of their light at once, and this was enough to overwhelm Zorc, and destroy him forever."_

" _Okay, that was an impressive story, but what does that have to do with you?"_

" _The cards I use are the duel monster cards, which draw on the same powers as those used in the Shadow Games."_

 _Louise's eyes widened in fright._

" _But don't worry. Zorc is destroyed, and there is no way of accessing the Shadow realm from this planet." Since there was no way of duelling, as I was the only duelist in this world, there really wasn't any reason to worry._

" _Ok. Anyway, onto the next order of business," Louise said, pointing at a basket full of clothes._

" _What are those?"_

" _Dirty clothes that piled up whilst you were out cold after your stupid duel with Guiche."_

" _All of these?!"_

" _Yes. Now get to work," Louise said, pointing to the door._


	4. Passionate Duelist

As I was doing Louise's washing, I heard a faint voice.

" **Sir…** "

"Hmm?" I said, looking around.

" **Sir.** " I felt a poke on my cheek, and turned to see a tiny Alphan hovering next to me.

"Ah!" I jumped back in shock.

" **I told you I had a surprise for when you woke up.** " Alphan giggled.

"Oh, I see…" I said contemplatively, until I realised. "Wait, isn't this going to drain my mana?"

" **As a matter of fact, no.** " Alphan said. " **You stretched your magical abilities enough to be able to do this without consuming your mana, which is good. Next is to let other people see us.** "

"Oh, I get it. It's like a level up system. As I get better at magic, and stretch myself further, I'll be able to do more cool things with my magic outside of battle."

" **Exactly.** "

"Awesome! Now, when I'm tired of dealing with Louise, I can talk to someone besides Siesta. If she's working I wouldn't want to be a nuisance, after all."

" **Of course.** "

"Anyway, Alphan. I'll finish this up, and we can chat whilst I get it done."

" **Great.** "

So we talked as I washed Louise's clothes. We mainly went over strategies, but we also did some people-watching, and talked about the Big Guy of the Super Quant team.

"I really hope I don't have to summon him to knock some sense into a noble." I said.

" **I hope so, too. There's no telling what the collateral damage would be.** "

"Let's just pray it doesn't come to that." The big guy was strong, and I wasn't sure if I could handle that much power at the level I was at.

After I had finished the laundry, I saw a group of students walk out of the main building, with their familiars. One had an armadillo, another had some kind of purple reptile, and some even wackier creatures for the other students. They looked over at me, and immediately started talking excitedly to each other, probably about my duel with Guiche, and how I was some unranked noble. A lot of students were theorising about my true identity. My gaze returned to their familiars.

"I'm in the same boat as all of those guys, huh?" I sighed.

" **Not exactly. You have your magic.** " Alphan reminded.

"That's true. Thanks Alphan."

" **You're very welcome sir. Now, I should be getting back. The layers are in the base alone, and I really don't want them to trash it.** "

"Smart. See you later."

" **Bye, sir.** "

As I wondered when I would be able to get home, I felt a sharp tug on my ear, causing me to flail my arms about, and heard Louise say, "How much longer are you going to spend on laundry, instead of escorting me to class?! You really are useless."

"Hey, let go! Ow!"

She let go of my ear, and ordered, "When the laundry is hung up, come to the classroom immediately!"

"Fine, fine." I said, but then I had a dastardly idea. After she had turned to walk away, I activated "Spark Blaster", and shot one round into her cloak, one into her shirt, and one into her skirt. I would bide my time, and then my revenge would be sweet.

* * *

In the class, the teacher, Mrs Chevreuse, was going over the types of magic, and what it meant to combine magic elements. I found out that mages who could only use one element at a time were Dot mages, two at a time were Line mages, three at a time were Triangle mages, and four at a time were Square mages. The girl who stood up to answer the question was Montmorency, the one who Guiche had been cheating on. She was in the row behind me and above, like in a lecture theatre. As she sat down, I realised the chance that was presented to me, so I leaned over a slight bit, to try and view the unviewable. "Just… a little… more…" I thought, but that was stopped when I felt a shoe drive itself into my stomach. I looked at the foot, and along the leg, up the torso, to the face, and saw a displeased Louise, with her arms crossed. Buzzkill!

"I believe most of you can handle one element at a time." Mrs Chevreuse said.

With that, the bitchy red-haired girl from before stood up, and said, "Mrs. Chevreuse, I hate to say this, but a student that can't even use one element, with a success rate of zero percent, is among us." All eyes fell on Louise. Even mine. In that moment, I understood.

I smirked evilly, as I concocted a plan in my head, remembering the static charges I placed on Louise.

After class, Louise and I were walking through the hallway, when I decided to put my plan into action.

"I finally understand why they call you Louise the Zero. Zero elements, Zero magical success…"

Which is technically not true, since she was able to summon me.

"But you're still a noble! How wonderful!" I said, swaying as I walked.

I saw Louise's shoulders tense, and I knew I'd riled her up, and had her exactly where I wanted her.

"You know, I could try and help you with your magic." I said. Louise turned around at that.

"Really?" She asked.

"Sure, it's worth a shot. Although our magic types may not be compatible, due to their different origins. Let's try anyway." I said, holding out my arm with the duel disk on it, hoping she would take the bait.

She reached out, and touched the duel disk. In my head, I jumped for joy. Finally, a taste of her own medicine!

As she touched it, I felt a slight shock, and knew that my plan had worked.

"Aaaahhh!" I heard her scream. I closed my eyes, wanting to savour the moment.

As I opened them, I saw a sight that I will never forget. Louise's hair had completely frizzed up, she had anime burn marks on her skin, her clothes were very slightly burnt, and she was smoking. I dropped to the floor with laughter. I was rolling around, clutching my stomach. I actually started crying with how hard I was laughing. It was bloody amazing!

I laughed so hard that I didn't register the spike in killer intent from right in front of me.

"This familiar… HOW DARE YOU!"

"Ah." I said, immediately ceasing my laughing fit. "Did I make you angry? Or worse?"

"One meal taken away for each second you just laughed!"

"Eh? That's like five meals!"

"No exceptions!"

* * *

My stomach growled as I knelt by the table, completely famished. True to her word, Louise didn't let me eat lunch or dinner, and I really felt it. I didn't even have the energy to activate a spell to feed myself.

"Uhhhhhhh…" I sighed.

"No."

"I didn't even say anything."

"You've only missed two meals. You still have three left."

"You're counting?"

"Nightgown."

I put it on her, and she walked towards the window. I crawled over to my bed, tired from the lack of sustenance, and mumbled, "For someone who's a Zero at everything, you'd think she'd be a bit more accommodating to those around her. Damn flat-chested noble."

I instantly regretted not saying that in my head, as I felt the killer intent spike a few feet away from me. I mechanically turned my head towards her, and saw that I had made a **big** mistake.

"Two more meals missed! Plus you will sleep outside tonight!"

"Ehhhhhh?" Crap.

* * *

As I lay on my bed of straw in the hallway, I sneezed.

"I think I'll freeze to death before I starve to death."

I was shivering, waiting for the sweet release of death.

I heard footsteps come towards me, and looked up, to see Siesta.

"Mr. Carlton?"

I jumped up out of my bed, and hugged her with everything I could. I was weak from the lack of food, and it was showing.

"What's wrong, Mr. Carlton?"

"Please, Siesta. Food…" I managed to get out, before the world went black.

* * *

I awoke when I smelt the most delicious aroma enter my nose. It was easily the greatest smell since I'd got to this world.

I opened my eyes when I realised what it was. Food!

I grabbed a spoon, and ate like my life depended on it. At this point, it felt as though it did. As I shovelled it down, I felt my strength returning, and I realised that the reason I hadn't blacked out earlier than I did was because my body was using my mana to try and stave off my hunger until I could get proper food. Magic really has its perks. Once I was back at max mana, I was still hungry, so I kept eating, and I finally felt well enough to make conversation.

"So they have food this good all the time? No wonder they have no humility."

"It's just the leftovers from the snobby nobles, but eat as much as you want, Our Sword!" the head chef said.

"Our Sword? What does that mean?" I asked.

"That's right! Like us, you're a peasant, but you have amazing power, unlike the snobby nobles, and even used it to put that snobby noble boy in his place. You're the pride of the peasants, Our Sword!"

"You know, my power is magic, although I am still a peasant."

"I don't care what your power is! It's what you use it for that matters. You used it to stand up for yourself after you'd done a good deed. I'm sure you would stand up for us, so I'll stand up for you."

"Wow, thanks! If you guys ever need any help, let me know, and I'll see what I can do."

The head chef let out a hearty laugh. "As expected from Our Sword! Selfless, with the needs of the many on his mind. Completely different from those stupid nobles!"

I took another bite. "Man, this is really good! I've never had a stew this delicious!"

The head chef came and roughly slapped me on the back, "When it comes to me, Marteau the head chef, anything will end up tasting exquisite! This is my own magic!"

"It's truly something else."

"Carlton, you really are a good man! I like you, Our Sword!"

I turned to Siesta, and she smiled at me. Damn, that smile could light up the night sky!

* * *

"Please come again. Every one of them is a fan of yours, Mr. Carlton." Siesta said.

I sweatdropped a bit at that.

"Thanks to this, I know that I'll be able to survive here. But my blackout the other day was kind of scary," I said.

"Mr. Carlton, when you had fallen unconscious, we were all worried about you, but the doctors said that you were just exhausted from overworking yourself. Please be careful." Siesta asked.

"Sure thing," I said, giving her a thumbs up.

Feeling a bit adventurous, I decided to take a leap.

"Say, Siesta? Are you a fan of mine?"

"Eh?" Siesta said, taken aback, with a blush on her face.

"Well, it's just that I would like to have someone as cute as you as my fan." I said, hugging her. "Don't worry, I'll make sure to be careful. Goodnight, Siesta. Thanks for dinner!" I waved, walking away.

"Goodnight Mr. Carlton," she said, snapping out of her daze, and giving me a slight bow.

I walked back to the hallway with my hands in my pockets, thankful that I had told Siesta how much I appreciate what she's done for me. "Ah, she's amazing," I said, as I approached my bed.

I heard a noise from the end of the hallway, and opened my eyes to see a large red lizard with a flame on its tail. I instantly recognised it as the familiar of that bitchy redhead. It then started crawling towards me, very quickly, might I add.

As I turned to run away, it jumped up, and headbutted me in the back, sending me to the floor. It then grabbed my jacket in its mouth, and carried me away, walking on its hind legs. I struggled to get out of its grasp, but it proved to be stronger than me, as I was taken away from my bed of straw.

* * *

When the lizard finally put me down, I realised that I was in someone's room. It was dark, and there were only a few candles lit, so I couldn't really see much.

"Welcome," I heard a familiar feminine voice say.

I looked at her, and recognised her as the bitchy redhead. "You're…"

"Welcome to my room, Carltonjohn Son. Or was it Carl Tonjohnson?"

"Just call me Carlton."

"Alright. Carlton." She said, putting on a seductive pose.

At this second, I realised what she was wearing. She was in her nightclothes! And they were the most frustrating nightclothes I'd ever seen. Her shirt was tied around her bust, but open going down, and she had on panties. They were purple, and I swear to Holactie, had I never met her before, I would've jumped her. Thankfully, I remembered her personality, so I was able to restrain myself from my urges. With extreme difficulty, might I add.

"I know this is something that shouldn't be. But my runic name is Kirche the Fever. I tend to burn like a torch," she continued.

"Uh, I see." I managed to sputter out, trying to control myself, and thankfully, succeeding.

"You still don't understand? I'm in love with you!" Suuuure. Didn't I see you with some third year like three days ago? "Love always comes so suddenly."

"It's certainly sudden." I said. Before now, this girl had never spoken a word to me, and now she's in love with me? This was screaming something at me, which I will omit for the sake of being proper, but it rhymes with 'door'. And 'floor'. And 'shore'.

"You looked so handsome when you defeated Guiche! Your flames radiated with my heart, and Kirche the Fever became Kirche the Passion…" She leaned in towards me, looking to steal a kiss.

"U-um…" I sputtered.

"Kirche!" I heard a new voice say.

She stopped leaning towards me, and turned to the voice. "Oh my, Styx?" It was the guy that she was with when I was running from Louise on my first day here.

"I came by because you didn't show up at our promised time."

"Then change that appointment to two hours from now." Eh? _Appointment?!_ OK, that's it. I need to get out of here.

"That's not the deal we had!" Styx shouted.

Kirche pointed her wand at him, and the flame from one of the candles rose up into a fire snake, and shot itself at Styx, causing him to fall. Wait, fall?!

It was then that I realised that he wasn't at the door. He was at the window, probably using some levitation spell to hover. Awesome. Except for the fire snake part.

"That was…" I began.

"Just a friend. Right now," Kirche turned to me, "The one I love the most is…"

"Kirche!" I heard a new voice say. Looking at the window, I saw a different guy, this time a blondie, who looked _pissed_. "Who is that man?! Tonight, I want you to burn up with me…"

He was also sent tumbling by a fire snake.

"Another friend?"

"That's right." Kirche turned back to me, and leaned in. "In any case, the night is short, and I don't want to waste any time with you!" Eh? At any rate, I need to get out of here! My hormones are kicking into overdrive, and I need to vacate before I do something I regret!

"Kirche!" I heard **three** people say in unison.

"What are you doing?! You said that you didn't have any particular lover!" they said, fighting to get past each other.

"Manica… Ajax… Gimly! Well then, in six hours."

"But it'll be morning by then!"

Kirche stood up, and pointed to them, saying "Flame!" The salamander stood up, and shot a flamethrower at the trio, sending them tumbling down.

I decided to turn on the charm, and hopefully woo my way out of this awkward situation. I quickly stood up, with my arms around Kirche's waist, bringing us right up to the window. Time to test how far she was willing to go with this.

"My dear, your flames have truly lit up my night. For that, I thank you."

"Why, Darling, it is only natural that I would burn up in my passion for you. Enough to light up the night sky!" Kirche responded, being led on by me.

"Your flames are truly astounding. But…"

"But?"

"But I fear that your flames will burn out before mine, leaving me alone, in the cold, harsh darkness. These other fellows lining up are prime examples of that."

"Oh, Darling. My flames will never burn out. My love for you is eternal. Compared to what I felt for them, my love for you burns like the sun in the sky!" Jesus, she was really making this hard!

I decided to take a bet on fate, and dive in. "Well then, I guess I have nothing to fear." I said, leaning towards her, acting like I was about to kiss her. With the way the moonlight made her look, I was damn close to doing just that.

Then the night took an interesting, for lack of a better word, turn. I felt a hand grab me from behind, and pull me, with an irritated male voice saying, "I won't let you have Kirche! Your fancy words mean nothing!"

I was kind of glad to be out of the situation, but then I felt the wind rush past my face, and remembered what was happening. I was falling from a third-storey window! Thinking quickly, I pendulum summoned three monsters. I can't remember which, it all happened so fast. I then tribute them all, in order to do a summon I would never forget.

* * *

" _Darling!_ " _Kirche cried out, as she saw her love fall from the window. All the other boys she'd sent down could fly, or at least levitate with basic wind magic, and she knew that Carlton could too, but he probably wouldn't be able to draw the cards in time. She started tearing up, as the man she'd come to love so suddenly, was just as suddenly ripped from her._

 _Then a tornado of fire shot up from the ground._

* * *

I rose up in a swirling inferno, my body covered in gold plated armour, my hands outstretched to my sides, as I quickly hit the boy that threw me out of the window with one of the most devastating right hooks I had ever unleashed. He went flying, eventually landing at a spot on the other side of the campus. Taking a look at myself, I realised that the summon didn't go exactly as I'd planned it.

Rather than summon 'The Winged Dragon of Ra', I equipped it as armour!

I looked very similar to the Balance Breaker from Highschool DxD, except it was gold instead of red, with red crystals instead of green. I had a red visor, with what looked like a bird beak coming from the front. I had massive golden wings, similar to Archangel from X-Men, and I emanated a heat like I had never felt before. Now this was power I could get used to!

Taking a look at Kirche, she was completely dumbfounded. I suppose my heat resonated with her too. I hovered over to her, and she put her hand out, to touch my armour. I gently grasped her hand, and brought it to my helmet. My helmet actually opened up, and allowed me to kiss her hand.

"Until next time, my Fever."

"Darling…"

And with that, I flew off, back to Louise's room.

* * *

 _When Kirche saw Carlton fall from the window, she felt as though her heart had shattered into a thousand pieces._

 _When she saw the swirling mass of flame rise up, she had a fleeting hope that it was him._

 _When she saw the radiant golden armour, she somehow knew instinctively that it was._

 _When she felt the heat his armour produced, it was like she'd fallen in love all over again._

 _That was when she realised that she did truly love Carlton._

 _She didn't just want him as a bedmate._

 _She wanted him as a husband._

* * *

I flew over to Louise's window, knocking on it, since it was closed. Just then I felt my mana run out, and my armour fizzled out of existence. I didn't realise how tired using Ra's power would make me. She opened the window just as it happened, so I was able to grab onto the windowsill before I fell to my death.

"What are you doing? You're meant to be sleeping outside." Louise said, annoyedly.

"Nice to see you too." I replied, sarcastically. "I was in Kirche's room."

I saw Louise tense up at the mention of the redhead's name, so I decided to climb into the room before she made an explosion that actually killed me.

"And what, exactly, were you doing in there?"

"Her familiar came and grabbed me, and brought me to her room. She tried to make a move on me, but I was able to play the situation right, and leave before things went too far…" I'd noticed a spike in killer intent in front of me, and decided to stop my sentence there.

"Then why are you out of breath?"

"I used up a lot of mana to get back here. My magic is quite physically taxing." I said, giving a weak chuckle. "Hehe… Louise?"

She was looking down, her bangs covering her eyes, and I couldn't read her emotions at all.

She then looked straight at me with anger in her eyes, shouting, "You're just like a dog in heat!"

I jumped from the sudden outburst, before bracing myself for the explosion. "Sorry! Let me explain!"

But she walked past me, and opened up a drawer, taking out what's inside. "What's that?" I asked.

"It's a crop, used for horseback riding."

"Crop? Why do you have it out now?"

"I was wrong… for accidentally treating you like a human! To think, you were wagging your tail at a Zerbst, of all people! Dog!" She shouted, striking the crop against the ground, causing me to jump backwards.

"Miss! Please calm down, put the crop away, and let me explain…"

"I was spoiling you. If you're a stray dog, I have to treat you like a stray dog!" She stalked towards me threateningly, tapping the crop against her palm.

I backed up until I was against the door, and decided to try talking again, "Wait! First, calm down… Let's talk…" Then she hit me in the face with the riding crop.

Then she hit me again. Why wouldn't she listen?

And again. Now I was getting angry.

And again. At this point, I was so angry, it didn't even hurt.

As she went to hit me the fifth time, I reached my hand out, and caught the crop mid-swing.

" **That's enough** **! I'm tired of this tsun-tsun attitude!** " I shouted, my voice sounding a bit distorted. This caused Louise to step back a bit, in fright.

" **Never, and I mean never, raise your hand, or any weapon, against me like that. If you do, I will make sure that you suffer. Do you understand me?** "

Louise recovered from her fright enough to say haughtily, "You're just a familiar, yet you have the audacity to order your master around? How dare you!"

" **How dare I? How dare you! You know why you treated me like a human being? Because I _am_ one! You kidnapping me, and forcing me to become your servant doesn't change that. Just because you're a Zero, and your familiar has greater magic than you, doesn't give you any excuse to treat me in such a way! If you ever strike me again in this manner, I am going to make you experience true pain. Then I will banish you to the Shadow Realm to live out an eternity of suffering. No one will miss you. You're just a Zero.** **Do you understand?** " I hissed.

Louise gulped.

" **I asked you a question!** " I roared at her.

"Yes, yes, I understand!" She said, on the verge of tears. I didn't care. I was trying to break her spirit.

" **Good** ," I said calmly. " **Now go to sleep before I feed you to my dragon.** "

Louise gave me a quick nod, as I let go of the riding crop, and she dropped it to the floor, and then ran into bed. I collected my straw bed from the hallway, and brought it back into Louise's room, in case Kirche sent Flame back during the night. Actually, that might not be such a bad thing... wait, what? Regardless, I'm tired now, so sleep comes first. After I'd spread the straw out on the floor, I collapsed onto it, falling asleep instantly, satisfied with how I'd humbled Louise. Why was I so angry anyway?

* * *

[Louise's POV – Right before she hits him]

This dog needs to be taught a lesson. I'll discipline him so much he'll never look at Zerbst again!

I raised my crop to hit him, and brought it down. I didn't care what he was trying to say, he needed to be punished!

I hit him until eventually my arm stopped moving. I looked up, and saw that he'd caught the crop before it could hit him. So he couldn't even be punished properly? What a joke.

Then I saw that dark aura rise from him, and knew that something wasn't right.

" **That's enough** **! I'm tired of this tsun-tsun attitude!** " His voice had changed, and the way that he shouted at me was chilling. I was caught completely off-guard. I took a step back, out of pure shock.

" **Never, and I mean never, raise your hand, or any weapon, against me like that. If you do, I will make sure that you suffer. Do you understand me?** "

He's just a familiar, less than human, a peasant, and he has the nerve to order around me, his master, a noble?! I'll not tolerate it!

"You're just a familiar, yet you have the audacity to order your master around? How dare you!"

" **How dare I? How dare you! You know why you treated me like a human being? Because I _am_ one! You kidnapping me, and forcing me to become your servant doesn't change that.**" B-But, I'm his master. It's his destiny to serve me, isn't it?

" **Just because you're a Zero, and your familiar has greater magic than you, doesn't give you any excuse to treat me in such a way!** " That stung, and I felt the malice he put behind each word as he said it. It's true, my familiar is more magical than I am. I started tearing up.

" **If you ever strike me again in this manner, I am going to make you experience true pain. Then I will banish you to the Shadow Realm to live out an eternity of suffering.** " What? He said that there was no way that he could access the Shadow Realm! Did he lie? At any rate, something's wrong with him. Or is this how he truly feels? I'm so confused!

" **No one will miss you. You're just a Zero.** **Do you understand?** " It's true. I'm a Zero. I can't use my magic for anything good. I might as well not have it. I gulped, trying to keep my growing sadness down.

" **I asked you a question!** "

"Yes, yes, I understand!" I was trying really hard not to cry now, but everything he said hurt me in some way. And it was all true as well. I am just a Zero.

" **Good** , **now go to sleep before I feed you to my dragon.** " What? He has a dragon? And it eats people?

At this point, I dropped everything, and ran into bed, trying hard to keep the tears from flowing. I heard the door open and shut, and I heard straw being moved on the floor. I guess he wants to stay in here. I won't stop him. I don't want him to make good on his promises. Once I heard him snoring, the tears fell, and I couldn't stop them.

What's wrong with me?

* * *

Hello people!

I actually originally had planned for Carlton to escape from Kirche using 'Makiu, The Magical Mist', but I decided against it, so I could open up the possibility of Carlton ending up with Kirche, which would definitely be interesting to write.

Until next time!


	5. Ironing out some issues

Hey guys!

In this chapter, I'll be explaining a little bit about why Carlton went full rage mode last chapter. There'll be more information as the story progresses, but hopefully I'll have answered any immediate questions. If I haven't, feel free to ask, and if it's not a spoiler, I'll do my best to respond.

Anyway, onto the chapter!

Revision: I've done an almost 100% rewrite of the interaction between Carlton and Louise in the second part of the chapter. I tried to make it relevant to the story, so let me know if there are any other changes I should make.

* * *

Duelist of Zero Chapter 5 – A history lesson

As I slept, I had a very odd dream. I was standing in a massive field, looking over the vast expanse. It was quite serene. Then a figure started to materialise. " _Carlton,_ " it said. " _We need to talk._ "

 **Insert opening – "Kirifuda" by cinema staff**

 **[Saa ima da, kazaseyo kirifuda. Kono mirai wa kimi no mono sa]** Carlton looks up from the ground, followed by Louise. He draws a card, and places it on the duel disk. A streak of light cuts across the screen, revealing the opening title screen.

 **[Giragira moeteru. Samenai yume demo miteiru you ni.]** Carlton stretches as he wakes up. Sunlight peeks through the window of Louise's room. He picks up his duel disk, places it on his arm, smirks, and walks out.

 **[Karada ga motomeru. Tsuyoi yatsu ga iru basho wo.]** Louise tries to transmute some rocks into brass, and they explode. Kirche, Guiche and Montmorency laugh, while Tabitha cracks a slight smile.

 **[Kurakura yureteru. Tashikana mono nado koko ni wa nai kara.]** Carlton strolls across a black background, with visions of his Duel monsters fading in and out in the background.

 **[Tadatada motomeru. Chikara no afureru basho wo.]** He stops when he meets the Super Quant team standing in front of him. He smirks and gives Red a fist bump.

 **[Tsugi no tatakai ga boku wo matteru.]** Many battles play out, with spells being cast and people falling. A giant visage of Cromwell appears in the sky.

 **[Atarashii hibi no aizu ga kikoeru.]** Pharaoh Atem opens his eyes and looks to the right. Carlton opens his eyes and looks to the left. Their eyes lock, and Dark Magician clashes with Red Layer.

 **[Saa ima da, kazaseyo kirifuda. Kono mirai wa kimi no mono sa.]** Carlton's fists set alight, and he runs at several soldiers, performing punches and kicks to take them down. Kirche points, and Flame sends a flamethrower. Tabitha flies overhead on Sylphid.

 **[Sono egao de sekai wo yuraseba, sono ato wa jibun shidai dayo.]** Guiche creates a landslide, with Verdande jumping out, surrounded by Valkyries, and Montmorency shoots a jet of water at some soldiers. Princess Henrietta looks longingly out of a castle window.

 **[Egaki dase, sono monogatari wo. Kimi koso ga shujinkou darou?]** Carlton reaches out to Siesta, who's far off in the distance. Louise's eyes glow white, and Carlton's glow gold as he stands in front of her, sword raised against oncoming foes. She raises her wand, and a flash of white overtakes the screen. The final screen shows Carlton, Louise, Guiche, Montmorency, Kirche, Tabitha, and their familiars, all rushing towards a shadowy figure.

" _We need to talk._ "

"About?"

" _What just happened to you._ "

"Ok. I was actually wondering myself. I've never been that angry before. It was like I felt the rage of multiple people within me."

" _You did._ "

"Eh?"

" _It is one of the perks of your magic. You are connected to all of us._ " As the figure said this, it materialised completely, into a form that I recognised instantly.

"Grandpa?"

" _It's been a while, hasn't it?_ "

"Grandpa!" I ran towards him, and got him in one of the tightest possible hugs. He had died a fair few years ago, and I remembered that day very well. It crushed me. But now he was here. How?

"Wait, how are you here?"

" _Thanks to you._ "

" What did I do?" I asked, confused.

" _You're telling me that you can't think of one amazing thing that you've done recently that could be a plausible explanation as to why I'm here?_ "

Then it dawned on me. "My magic."

" _Bingo! Since you were able to unlock magic, you've broken the barrier between the corporeal and ethereal. You can communicate with the dead._ "

"Well, that certainly seems useful."

" _It is, but we've gone off topic._ _I was going to tell you about what happened to you, and why you experienced such a surge of rage._ "

"Oh yeah. Please, continue."

" _Sure. As I was saying, you're connected to all of us._ " As he said this, many more figures materialised behind him, none of whom I recognised.

"Who's 'us', Grandpa?"

" _Your family. Specifically, your ancestors. We're all here, and when we saw Louise threatening you in such a vulgar fashion, treating you like property, we couldn't just stand by._ "

"So you allowed your anger to flow into me."

" _Yeah. It appears we got our message across, but you may want to talk to her about it, to calm her down. We may have gone a bit overboard._ "

"You think?" I retorted, recalling the threats that I had made to Louise while under the influence of my ancestors' rage.

" _Well, some ancestors were angrier than others, especially those from the 15_ _h_ _to the 19_ _th_ _century. I think you can guess why._ "

"Yeah." I nodded, knowingly. I would need to explain to Louise what had happened in my world, and hopefully, she would understand. Then I realised something else. "If everyone were able to do this, every company that finds your ancestry would go out of business."

Grandpa chuckled at that. " _Yes, yes they would. Anyway, we've spoken for long enough. You should wake up. Louise is waiting._ "

I nodded. "Ok. I'll see you later grandpa. Bye everyone!" I said, waving at my ancestors.

* * *

A flash of light overtook my senses, and I woke up.

"Carlton. Carlton!" I heard Louise calling me.

"I'm awake, I'm awake. Jesus Christ, do you have to shout?" I said, annoyed. Louise flinched slightly, and I remembered last night. "Louise, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, but I want an explanation as to what happened last night. Now."

"I was, how do I put it…" I thought about the most apt description, "possessed."

"Eh? Possessed? By what? A demon?"

"Not quite. My ancestors."

"Your ancestors possessed you, and you let out such a malicious aura? I don't believe it."

"Louise, that wasn't malice. It was rage."

"Rage? What were they angry about?"

"Are you seriously asking that?"

"Yes. Now answer."

"They were mad about the way you were treating me, and the fact that you thought it was okay to hit me with a riding crop."

"Pffft. You were acting like a dog, so I treated you like a dog."

"You're really not helping." I said, feeling the anger rise slightly.

"Besides, why were _they_ so angry? It wasn't like I was beating them."

"Wouldn't you be angry if someone punished your child for something unfairly?"

"Yes, I would, but that wasn't-"

"Okay, enough talking from you," I interrupted, putting my finger to her lips. "I'll give you a brief history lesson. In my world, slaves used to be commonplace. People would buy and sell others to do hard labour without any semblance of compensation. It's happened all throughout history, until about 200 years ago, when it was abolished."

"Were these people all peasants?"

"It shouldn't matter. Someone being a lower class than you gives you no reason to treat them as any less of a human. What does social status really do for the world, other than cause divisions? These 'peasants' as you call them, were taken from their homes, separated from their loved ones, beaten, forced into labour, and were treated like pieces of property. They were completely dehumanised. It was an awful, unjust world, that only catered to those who had money." I said with a frown, remembering some of the more despicable events that transpired in the history of my world.

"But-"

"There's no buts about it Louise!" I exclaimed, interrupting her. "My ancestors had their lives taken from them. They were ripped from their homes, betrayed by their brothers and sisters, and seen as no more than animals, if even that. They lived their lives wondering if there would ever be a day when they could be free again. My ancestors didn't put up with 200 years of suffering for some prissy rich kid to kidnap me and make me into a slave. I'm putting my foot down. You can either start seeing me as the human that I am, or I can make good on those promises from yesterday."

Louise paled slightly at that. "I-I didn't kidnap-"

"Yes you did. Don't even go there Louise. I was back home, living my life, enjoying myself, when I'm suddenly sucked up and spat out here, where I'm expected to put up with the crap my great-great-great grandparents did? That certainly sounds like kidnapping to me, if not human trafficking." Louise was silent. Having said my piece, I was a bit more open to hearing her out. "Anything you want to say?"

She started tearing up. Damn. I didn't want to make her cry again. I thought she had a thicker skin than that, but if Guiche was an example of a noble, I really shouldn't be surprised.

"I...I..." Let's see what kind of excuse she spouts now.

"I'm sorry." Okay, not what I was expecting.

"For what?" I asked, trying to get her to make progress.

"For how I've been treating you. I just wanted to show everyone that I could actually do magic, by summoning a strong familiar. Then you arrived, and I thought you were useless. Then you go and beat a noble in a duel, and turn out to have even greater magical ability than I do. I suppose I was just frustrated that I can never do anything right."

She seemed relieved slightly, having aired all of her grievances. I suppose I may have done something similar in her situation.

"Well, you've done something right." I said, calmly.

"And what is that?" She asked, clearly not believing me.

"You summoned me. Surely if you had no magical ability, then nothing would've occurred in the familiar summoning ceremony. It's clear that you have magic, but just can't seem to use it properly. If you can find a way to channel it, I'm sure you can be a great mage. I believe in you." I said, smiling.

She started tearing up again, then hugged me. "That's... the first time anyone's said that they believe in me." Seriously?! What is up with the nobles here? "Thank you Carlton."

"You're welcome Louise. And since I helped you, I'd like to make a proposal. I'll help you to learn about my magic, to see if there's any compatibility, and a way for you to use my power, and you stop making me wash your clothes and dress you." I put my hand out for her to shake. "Deal?"

She thought for a moment, clearly weighing up the two options. She eventually stuck her hand out, and shook mine. "Deal." We both nodded.

"Now, you need to get ready. You're going to be late for class."

"Eh?" Louise said, checking the time. "Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhh?!"

Whew, we've got a lot of work to do.

* * *

What's good people! I hope you enjoy the new and improved Chapter 5! I was thinking on it, and I actually wasn't happy with it, even when I posted it, so hopefully, these changes will better fit the story, rather than the chapter being almost completely pointless.

I actually initially had some more character development for Louise in this chapter, but I've decided to hold back on it, since it felt like I'd rushed it a bit too much. I want the growth to feel natural.

I thought the magical connection to his ancestors was a good idea, and it will certainly play a bigger part as the story goes on. Stick around to find out how.

The opening is opening 4 from Yu-Gi-Oh Arc-V, in case you were wondering. I just found myself in love with the song, so I used it.

Chapter 6 will be up soon, so look out for that.

Until next time!


	6. (Not so)Golden Bamboo, but still a Sword

Hey guys!

This is the second part of today's double update! Last chapter was quite short, so I decided to give you guys a bit extra to enjoy.

I also have a surprise for you guys in the chapter. I hope you all enjoy it!

Now, on with the chapter!

* * *

(Not so) Golden Bamboo, but still a Sword

After explaining to Louise the reason for my boundless rage the day before, and she had calmed down, she looked at me and said "Get ready, we're going out today."

"Out where?"

"Into town. It's voidday, so there are no lessons today."

"Okay. Why are we going into town?"

"To get you some new clothes, and a weapon."

* * *

 **Insert opening – "Kirifuda" by cinema staff**

 **[Saa ima da, kazaseyo kirifuda. Kono mirai wa kimi no mono sa]** Carlton looks up from the ground, followed by Louise. He draws a card, and places it on the duel disk. A streak of light cuts across the screen, revealing the opening title screen.

 **[Giragira moeteru. Samenai yume demo miteiru you ni.]** Carlton stretches as he wakes up. Sunlight peeks through the window of Louise's room. He picks up his duel disk, places it on his arm, smirks, and walks out.

 **[Karada ga motomeru. Tsuyoi yatsu ga iru basho wo.]** Louise tries to transmute some rocks into brass, and they explode. Kirche, Guiche and Montmorency laugh, while Tabitha cracks a slight smile.

 **[Kurakura yureteru. Tashikana mono nado koko ni wa nai kara.]** Carlton strolls across a black background, with visions of his Duel monsters fading in and out in the background.

 **[Tadatada motomeru. Chikara no afureru basho wo.]** He stops when he meets the Super Quant team standing in front of him. He smirks and gives Red a fist bump.

 **[Tsugi no tatakai ga boku wo matteru.]** Many battles play out, with spells being cast and people falling. A giant visage of Cromwell appears in the sky.

 **[Atarashii hibi no aizu ga kikoeru.]** Pharoah Atem opens his eyes and looks to the right. Carlton opens his eyes and looks to the left. Their eyes lock, and Dark Magician clashes with Red Layer

 **[Saa ima da, kazaseyo kirifuda. Kono mirai wa kimi no mono sa.]** Carlton's fists set alight, and he runs at several soldiers, performing punches and kicks to take them down. Kirche points, and Flame sends a flamethrower. Tabitha flies overhead on Sylphid.

 **[Sono egao de sekai wo yuraseba, sono ato wa jibun shidai dayo.]** Guiche creates a landslide, and Montmorency shoots a jet of water at some soldiers. Princess Henrietta looks longingly out of a castle window.

 **[Egaki dase, sono monogatari wo. Kimi koso ga shujinkou darou?]** Carlton reaches out to Siesta, who's far off in the distance. Louise's eyes glow white, and Carlton, glow gold as he stands in front of her, sword raised against oncoming foes. She raises her wand, and a flash of white overtakes the screen. The final screen shows Carlton, Louise, Guiche, Montmorency, Kirche, Tabitha, and their familiars, all rushing towards a shadowy figure.

* * *

"I don't need a weapon. I have my magic."

"For now, you do. But what if you run out, or a new fight starts before you can properly recharge? You'll be left to dry."

"Fair point."

Once we had gotten ready, we were at the school courtyard, walking towards the exit, and when we got to the dirt road, I saw that there was a horse. Hehe, no. I don't f*** with horses. I actually have a fear of horses, but I wasn't about to tell Louise that. "I think I have a faster way of getting us to town."

*sigh* "Go ahead."

Silently thanking Holactie that I wouldn't have to go near that dreadful animal, I drew a "Raidraptor – Vanishing Lanius" and two "Raidraptor – Fuzzy Lanius". I then summoned all three, and overlaid them, chanting, " **Obscured falcon, from adversity, raise your sharpened claws! Spread your wings of rebellion! Xyz Summon! Come forth! Rank 4! Raidraptor – Rise Falcon!** " I then drew "Rank Up Magic – Skip Force" and activated it, chanting, " **Prideful falcon, spread your wings dyed in the blood of heroes! Advance through the path of revolution! Rank Up! Xyz Change! Come forth! Rank 6! Raidraptor – Revolution Falcon!** "

Before us appeared a black mechanical bird, that was missing its legs, and had tubes jutting from its wings. It had a blue head, with red and yellow highlights, and was actually quite menacing. Louise looked scared of it, but I just walked up to it, preparing to board it.

"Oh, come on. It's not going to hurt you, and we've not got all day."

"Easy for you to say. This magic is far beyond me."

"Hehe. Let's go, Revolution Falcon."

" **Got it sir. Town centre, right?** "

"Maybe drop us off a little bit outside of the town centre. We don't want to scare the locals now, do we?"

" **Understood. Modifying route. T minus 3 seconds to take off.** " Huh, he reminded me of Jarvis too.

"You may want to sit down, Louise." I said, strapping myself into the seat on its back.

" **T minus 2 seconds.** "

"We'll be off shortly."

" **T minus 1 second.** "

"Huh?" Louise said, taking a second to register my words. "Wait, wha-"

" **Take off!** " Revolution Falcon's voice said, and we were off like a rocket.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!" screamed Louise. Thankfully, I managed to grab her before she went flying off of the falcon's back, and I was able to drag her into her seat, and secure the seatbelt. With that, we were on our merry way. Well, at least I was.

* * *

 _Kirche looked out of her window when she heard the commotion outside. She'd just been having the most pleasant dream of her and her Darling, burning up in their passion for each other. Needless to say, she wasn't pleased that her dream had been interrupted. As she looked out of the window for the source of the noise, she found it to be her Darling, and Louise?!_

" _So, she thinks she can keep him all to herself just because its voidday?! Well she's got another thing coming!" And with that, she got dressed, and stormed out of her room._

* * *

When we got close to the town, I told Revolution Falcon to drop us off, as we could walk the rest of the way. He nodded, and landed not too far from the town entrance. We dismounted, with Louise looking more than a little shaky. I gave RF a nod, with him returning it, before disappearing into purple motes of light, and returning to my duel disk. I gave Louise a concerned look. "You alright?" I asked.

"Peachy. Could I have a bit more warning next time?!"

"Yeah… sorry about that. I forgot that you guys probably aren't used to travelling that fast."

"So people can travel that quickly in your world? I don't believe it."

I decided not to bring up our modern forms of travel, so as not to fry her brain. She looked unsteady enough on her feet as it was. After giving her a minute to recover fully, we made our way into town.

* * *

 _Tabitha was reading her book as always, enjoying the peace and quiet solitude offered. When she heard Kirche storming through the hallway, she raised her staff, chanting softly, right before Kirche burst into her room, simultaneously ranting and swooning. Oddly enough, no sound was coming from her mouth. Eventually, Tabitha undid the spell, as Kirche was saying, "So we can't let Valliére be alone with my Darling. We must find them now! Can I borrow Sylphid? Pleeeaaase?"_

 _Giving a slight sigh, Tabitha brought her fingers to her lips, and gave a short whistle. Her dragon familiar appeared shortly after, and Tabitha and Kirche both boarded it. With Tabitha giving short descriptions of both Carlton and Louise, and telling her dragon not to eat them, they were off._

* * *

As we walked through the town, I noticed that none of the signs on the shops had any writing on them. Curious, I posed the question to Louise. "Louise, how come none of the signs have any words on them?"

"Simple. None of the peasants can read."

"Ehhhhh?" I was visibly taken aback. "None of them can read?! Can they write?"

"The scholars can."

"Wow. That's… something." Yeah, something archaic! Why aren't they taught to read and write?

"None of them need to learn, since they go straight into their family business once they're old enough. Only nobles go to school." Louise said, as if she was trying to justify it.

"How horrible. No school for those who can't afford it?"

"You make it seem as though everyone goes to school in your world."

"That's because everyone _does_! School is mandatory until you're at least sixteen, and the government pays for it for the entire time."

"Hmph! As if. Everyone going to school? What a joke."

"No, the joke is that there is no room for progress anywhere in this world. Having a system that doesn't foster self-improvement and only expands the divisions between people is truly a sad sight."

Louise didn't seem moved at all by my words. I was about to say something else, but the conversation was cut off by Louise saying, "There it is. The sword shop!"

Sure enough, we'd reached a building that had a sign with a sword on it, and we went inside. There was a man in there, behind the counter, and I saw the way his eyes lit up when he saw Louise walk in. He probably thought that he could try and cheat us. Well, I wasn't about to let that happen.

We walked in, and I started looking around at the different swords on offer, whilst Louise went straight to the man behind the counter, and said, "I need a sword for my familiar."

"Hm. A peasant familiar. That's not something you see every day." The man said. "I think I've got just the sword for you. Give me a moment." The man went through the door behind the counter, and out of our sight. I continued looking around, and saw what looked like a bargain bucket, filled to the brim with old, rusty swords. For some reason I gravitated towards it. I wasn't sure why.

After a short while, the man returned, with what can only be described as flashy. It was a golden 'sword', with a jewel-encrusted hilt and handle. I could immediately tell that the only value from it would come from the price of the materials used to make it, and it would be useless as a weapon. Louise on the other hand…

Louise looked like she had stars in her eyes. She asked the man, "How much does it cost?"

Here we go.

"3000 gold coins." There it is. Even though I don't know the conversion rates, I knew that that was an extortionate amount of money.

"Eh? You could buy a mansion with servants for that price!" Louise exclaimed, thankfully not falling for it.

"A high-quality sword is worth as much. This sword was made by a master Germanian alchemist, so it is very rare, and very valuable."

Louise sighed, looking into her purse. "I'm not going to have enough money to buy that until next month…"

Deciding to step in, I said to the man, "Thank you, sir, but I don't think that that sword is for me."

"Huh?" Louise said, looking at me, somewhat surprised.

"Well, that sword looks very ornamental. Rather than using it in battle, it seems like it should be used in a ceremony of some kind. I wouldn't really want anything that flashy anyway. Do you think you have something a bit more low-key?" At this, the man scowled at me, realising that he wouldn't be able to stiff us so easily.

"Looks like you know what you want in a sword, ay mate?" I heard a voice say. I was instantly on guard, my hand on my duel disk, ready to fight. It may seem like an overreaction, but it was only the three of us in the store, the voice was definitely male, and I'd been watching the salesman the whole time. "Who's there?" I said, looking around cautiously. "Show yourself!"

"Calm down, man. I'm down here!" I followed the voice to the bargain bucket, and picked up the sword closest to me. It was very old and rusty, but I could sense that there was something special about it. "Hey!" The sword greeted. "My name's Derflinger! What's yours?"

"Carlton," I responded, still confused as to how I was talking to a sword.

"Well Carlton, how about you drop a few gold coins and take me out of this place?"

"Shut up, Derf! You're ruining my business!" the salesman shouted

"Well you shouldn't have tried to con these people!" Derflinger retorted. "Whaddya say, Carlton?"

At this moment, the situation fully hit me. I was holding a talking sword. So what if it was a bit rusty. Any inanimate object that talks is definitely going to be useful. "I'll take him."

Louise gasped, and shouted, "You can't seriously be thinking of buying that piece of junk!"

I smirked. "Watch me." Turning to the salesman, I asked, "How much?"

"One thou-" he began, before…

*BOOM!*

A huge explosion shook the ground. "Louise!" I shouted, completely out of reflex.

"It wasn't me! Honest!" she said, putting her hands up defensively. The salesman was cowering behind the counter, completely ignoring us.

"Ok. Let's go check it out." I said. Louise nodded, and we both ran out of the shop, to the source of the noise. We found a sight that made my blood freeze. It was an anthropomorphic ox, which was covered in red armour with gold trimming, and holding a battle axe. It was "Battle Ox", but it'd been summoned, and was going on a rampage! It had blown holes in several buildings, and citizens were running away from it in fright.

"What is that thing?" Louise cried.

"It's… it's… A duel monster!" I shouted in panic.

Louise's eyes went wide, and she looked at me, equally panicked. "Then that means…"

"The shadow realm is somehow connected to this world." I said gravely. Of course, nothing is ever easy. Battle Ox was stronger than several men, as evident by how it was easily fighting off several royal guards without breaking a sweat.

"At any rate, we need to take it down." I said, fastening my cloak. Since I'd shown skill at using magic, the Academy had granted me my own cloak, which I was very thankful for in this moment. It had a hood, so I'd be able to fight without drawing attention to myself. It also covered my clothes, so I wouldn't stand out too much in my modern outfit. "Take care of Derf, Louise." I said, handing the sword over to her. I then quickly drew and activated "Big Bang Shot", igniting my hands and feet. With that done, I ran towards Battle Ox, my fist raised, ready for a brawl.

When Battle Ox noticed me charging towards it, rather than running away from it, it started charging towards me. Just before we collided, it swung its axe down on me, trying to cleave me in half. I caught it, and twisted it out of its hand, before throwing it away. Don't bring an axe to a fistfight!

I then jumped up, and kicked it in the chest, knocking it back, and gaining me a little bit of distance. I used this chance to summon Green Layer. When the resulting tornado dispersed, I gave him quick commands. "Coordinate with Louise, and make sure that everyone in the immediate vicinity is evacuated!"

" **Yes sir.** " He said, and flew off.

Battle Ox got back up, and started charging towards me, significantly more animalistic than before.

* * *

 **Insert BGM – You Say Run**

I charged as well, and met it head on, our fists colliding. We both went for a right hook, and our fists met again, making a small crater. We both went for a left hook, and we made the crater even deeper.

Seeing that straight on assaults wouldn't get me anywhere, I decided to use my agility to my advantage. Battle Ox was by no means slow, but it was heavy, so it would take extra effort to follow my movements. I jumped onto a wall of one of the houses, and propelled myself off of it, towards Battle Ox, hitting it with a punch. I then kept going, and landed on the wall across the street. Battle Ox went to charge at me, but I jumped off of the wall again, going over its head, kneeing it in the face, stopping it in its tracks. It turned around, a sizable dent on its face from the impact, its eyes glowing red with its intense rage. It roared, and charged at me again, intent on pulverising me.

I noticed that my flames were weakening a bit, so I decided to finish this fight now. I could last a while, but Battle Ox would probably beat me in a stamina fight. As it charged at me, I focused on my target: its legs. I pushed of the wall even more forcefully than before, shooting myself directly towards its legs. I stuck my leg out to the side, in order to sweep it. It was successful, and it was disoriented. Pushing my mana into my right fist, I drove it straight into Battle Ox's chest, sending it directly upwards.

Bouncing off of the wall I next found myself on, I angled myself upwards. Don't ask how I did it, because even I couldn't tell you. I shot up towards it like a bullet, and when I was directly above it, I raised my right leg straight up, and delivered a devastating axe kick, that sent it to the ground like a meteor. I then flipped around in the air, and launched myself straight down, but landed properly before I hit the ground. Battle Ox did not land properly, and made a huge crater in the ground, bouncing up out of it from the force.

"Hey." I said. "I've got a little bit of advice for you before I send you back to the Shadow Realm. Tell all the monsters there that if they try to invade this world and wreak havoc, they'll have a meeting with my fist!" I saw fear on Battle Ox's face. Good. My message was getting through.

"You've probably never heard these words, but you'll understand the meaning soon enough!"

I raised my open hand to the sky, and what looked almost like a star appeared in my palm.

"Go Beyond!" I shouted

I closed my fist, and reared it back. It started glowing white.

"PLUS!"

I drove my fist forward, right into Battle Ox's stomach.

"ULTRA!"

It seemed as though there was an explosion where my hand met Battle Ox's stomach, and sure enough, Battle Ox went flying. It was like a rocket. It went sailing through the sky, even dispersing some clouds along the way. I eventually saw a black portal open up in the sky, and Battle Ox flew directly into it. With that, I knew that my job was done.

 **End BGM**

* * *

I sighed in relief, and sat down on the ground, tired from that last bout. It seemed as though just quoting All Might was enough to tire a man out. I closed my eyes, and started contemplating this situation.

*CLAP*

*CLAP*

*CLAP*

This immediately brought me out of my introspection. Several townspeople had exited their homes, and were looking to see if Battle Ox was still there. I guess when they saw me sitting there, they realised I'd beaten it. That was why they were clapping.

"Our Saviour!" I heard someone cry out. Then more people started saying it. Then it turned into a chant.

They started getting closer, and before something happened that could risk exposing my identity, I decided to leave. Knowing they would follow me, I thought up a quick plan, and hoped it would work. Putting on my calmest voice possible, I said to the people, "There is no need for thanks. I was merely doing what is right."

At this, their looks of admiration grew even stronger.

"Until next time, citizens!" I gave them a two-finger salute, drew "Swords of Concealing Light", and activated it, turning myself invisible. I crept out of the crowd, and ran into an alleyway. Once there, I turned off my magic going into the card, turning me visible again. Lowering my hood, I let out a deep breath. People would probably think I'm a superhero, so I thought it was best that I hide my identity. I'd rather not have that attention.

I then heard a voice in my head. " **Sir.** "

It shocked me for a second, before I realised who it was. "Green?"

" **Affirmative.** "

"How are you… Did I level up again?" I asked excitedly.

" **Affirmative. Now you can telepathically communicate with us.** "

"Cool. Onto the next matter, were you able to find Louise?"

" **Affirmative. We evacuated everyone we could find, although some decided to wait in their homes.** "

"I noticed. Loads of people started pouring out when I finished off Battle Ox."

" **I see…** "

"Thankfully I had my hood on, so they didn't catch my identity."

" **I believe that's for the best, Sir.** "

"Yeah, me too. Anyway, where are you two?"

Green gave me their location, and I was able to meet up with them.

* * *

Once I found them, I decided that it was best to try and draw as little attention to myself as possible. Green returned to my duel disk, and I once again used "Swords of Concealing Light" to become invisible, whilst I followed Louise to the clothes shop. It was a good thing too, since the clothes shop was actually one of the shops that I bounced off of during my assault on Battle Ox. Thankfully the damage wasn't too bad. The wall was slightly caved in, from when I jumped off of it.

When we went inside, I deactivated "Swords of Concealing Light", allowing myself to become visible again, whilst Louise stepped forward and called for the tailor.

"Ms. Quinn? Ms. Quinn, are you here?"

"Coming! I'll be there in a second!" I heard a somewhat elderly voice say. True enough, the tailor walked out from a door, and she was a slightly elderly woman, quite short, at least compared to me, but she looked happy. I don't know how exactly to describe it, but she had this aura of contentedness to her, as though she were fulfilled. It was very interesting.

"Ah, Louise! Have you come to get your uniform fixed again?" The woman asked.

"Not this time, Ms. Quinn. I've actually come to get some clothes for my familiar."

Ms. Quinn then turned to me, and lightly gasped. "A human familiar? Astounding."

I grinned sheepishly at that.

"Anyway, what kind of clothes do you want?" Ms. Quinn asked me.

"Well, I'd like some casual clothes, some formal clothes, but I'd also like you to make some modifications to my cloak."

"Really? What kind of modifications exactly?"

"I'd like you to turn it into a jacket."

"Oh? Whatever for?" Louise also turned to me, confused.

"Well, you see, I was the one that just dispatched that raging ox monster…" I trailed off a bit, knowing that the fight had caused some damage to the shop.

"Really? Well, I must say, job well done." Ms. Quinn said, smiling.

"Seriously? I thought you'd be mad, because of your wall." I said, turning to said wall, to assess the damage.

"Oh, nonsense! You prevented the monster from levelling the entire town. A little bit of damage is to be expected, and besides, it's nothing that can't be fixed." Hearing her say that took a large weight off my shoulders. I had, in fact, made the right choice.

"Back to the reasoning." I said. "You see, I would like to minimise the number of people that know my identity, so I was thinking of using illusion magic on my cloak, but that could only change the colour, not the shape or texture. So I figured, why not change the cloak entirely? It's already been imprinted with my magic, so making it look like a cloak again would be no problem."

"Ah, I see. A very interesting take. A hero who wants no credit." Ms. Quinn mused at the apparently novel idea. "Very well then, I'll take on this request. It will take a while, but I'll be able to do it. It'll be ready in time for the Familiar Exhibition Festival."

"Thank you." I said. "I'll draw up a design for how I want the jacket to look."

"I'll get some paper and pencils."

After I'd drawn the design, I decided on the formal wear that I wanted. I'd have the basic attire, but the jackets were what I wanted to focus on. One for each Egyptian God. I drew three trenchcoats, and styled them after the Egyptian Gods. A sapphire blue one for Obelisk, a ruby red one for Slifer, and a golden yellow one for Ra. I also drew an obelisk blue jacket, since I would be able to transform it into any of the three dorm jackets. I then gave some basic designs for casual wear, Louise paid her, she took my measurements, and we were on our way. It felt as though I'd missed something, but I couldn't quite place my finger on what it was supposed to be.

* * *

 _Kirche and Tabitha were searching the entire town for Carlton and Louise, but at this point, they'd already left. Kirche was whining, and Tabitha was only half paying attention. That was, until they came across a crater in the middle of the street, with similar ones on the sides of the buildings on the street. There were some townspeople around, talking about it, so Kirche went up to them and asked what had happened._

" _An ox monster was wreaking havoc, when suddenly a cloaked hero charged at it, and fought with it equally, before using a punch to banish it back to the hell from whence it came. It was truly spectacular."_

" _And this hero, how did he fight?"_

" _Hand-to-hand combat. He covered his hands and feet in flames,_ _and attacked the monster without fear. It was truly astounding!" The villager replied gleefully._

 _"Hm, I see. Did you find out the identity of this hero?"_

 _"Unfortunately not. He didn't seem to want any recognition or reward for his heroism. He said he was just doing the right thing."_

 _"I see. Well thank you."_

 _"It's no problem ma'am."_

 _Turning to Tabitha, Kirche lit up with joy, squealing like a schoolgirl. "Did you hear that, Tabitha? My darling must have jumped in heroically and saved all of these people! Ah, I feel like I'm burning up already!"_

 _Tabitha turned around and gave a short whistle, summoning her dragon._

 _"Wait, what are you doing?" Kirche asked._

 _"Not here..." Tabitha said quietly, getting onto Sylhid's back._

 _"Eh?"_

 _"Leaving..." The dragon took off, and grabbed onto Kirche with one of its hands, putting her on its back._

 _"Wait, what?! I didn't even find my darling!" Kirche cried out._

 _The rest of the journey home was quite noisy._

* * *

Hey people!

They're here! Yes, Duel Monsters will be appearing in this fanfic, however, only as minor villains who simply need to be dispatched back to the Shadow Realm. But, you never know, some more powerful creatures may be waiting to make their appearance...

With that said, leave your suggestions for Duel Monsters that Carlton will have to fight. I want the audience to get engaged with the fanfic. Preferably they would just be simple monsters, because I don't really want any big bad antagonist material to be wasted in a two paragraph fight. I may make a poll on this, so keep an eye out for that too.

Until next time!


	7. Advent of the Storm

Merry Christmas people! (give or take 4 days)

I've had this chapter ready for a bit, but I kept making changes to it, so I wasn't able to put it out. Plus school has been awful, and the Christmas period is hectic as always.

In this chapter, there are a couple of surprises, and we'll see a bit more of Carlton's new powers.

On with the chapter!

* * *

 **Advent of the Storm**

 _Old man Osmond was moving his staff over a piece of paper, writing out a message for the man in front of him to deliver. Once he was done, he magically rolled up the letter, and levitated it over to the messenger. The messenger had a thin moustache, thin eyebrows, and sideburns that made him look like he should be charging at a matador rather than delivering letters. This was Count Mott._

 _He unravelled the scroll, checking that everything necessary was written, saying, "We appreciate the understanding and cooperation of the academy."_

 _"We have no choice, as it is a direct order from the royal family," Old Osmond replied._

 _"Very well. If you'll excuse me." Count Mott said, giving a slight bow before turning around to exit the headmaster's office._

 _As he opened the door, Miss Longueville gave him a curt bow._

 _"Hm? Would you like to join me for dinner, Miss Longueville?" he asked, shamelessly staring at her chest the whole time, causing Miss Longueville to blush, and put her hands over her chest defensively._

 _"It would be my honour, Count Mott."_

 _"Mm. I'll be looking forward to it." he replied. You could literally hear the perversion dripping from his voice._

 _"Of course." Miss Longueville replied, bowing again. As soon as he was out of sight and earshot, she glared daggers in his direction, and once again put her hand over her chest defensively._

 _Walking into Old Osmond's office, she asked him, "So, what impossible task did the royal family force onto us this time?" She picked up a stack of books, and went to bring them to the bookshelf._

 _"Oh, nothing of the sort this time. They were simply cautioning us about a thief."_

 _"A thief?" Longueville asked, stopping._

 _"Apparently, there has been a thief going around causing a ruckus, going by the name Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt. They have been stealing valuables from nobles."_

 _"Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt?" Longueville asked, as she placed the books into different places in the bookshelf._

 _"The royal palace asked us to hold the Staff of Destruction for safekeeping." Old Osmond explained._

 _Longueville pulled out her wand, and levitated one of the books to a shelf that was too high for her to reach. "Staff of Destruction? What a dangerous sounding name."_

 _"I don't know how skilled of a mage this Fouquet is, but even they should have some trouble breaking into our vault. It is protected by layers of spells cast be a Square Mage. The royal family is worrying too much." Old Osmond said calmly, taking his staff, and levitating his paperweight, fashioned after a hand with the index finger pointing out. He directed it into Miss Longueville's direction._

 _When it reached her, it gently poked the small of her back, before running up her spine, causing Miss Longueville to gasp, dropping her books. Osmond had a triumphant smile on his face, but that quickly faded when he saw Miss Longueville holding his paperweight, with an angry look on her face. "W-Wait-" He tried to get out before she launched the paperweight directly at his face._

 _"YEEEEEAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!"_

* * *

 **Insert opening – "Kirifuda" by cinema staff**

 **[Saa ima da, kazaseyo kirifuda. Kono mirai wa kimi no mono sa]** Carlton looks up from the ground, followed by Louise. He draws a card, and places it on the duel disk. A streak of light cuts across the screen, revealing the opening title screen.

 **[Giragira moeteru. Samenai yume demo miteiru you ni.]** Carlton stretches as he wakes up. Sunlight peeks through the window of Louise's room. He picks up his duel disk, places it on his arm, smirks, and walks out.

 **[Karada ga motomeru. Tsuyoi yatsu ga iru basho wo.]** Louise tries to transmute some rocks into brass, and they explode. Kirche, Guiche and Montmorency laugh, while Tabitha cracks a slight smile.

 **[Kurakura yureteru. Tashikana mono nado koko ni wa nai kara.]** Carlton strolls across a black background, with visions of his Duel monsters fading in and out in the background.

 **[Tadatada motomeru. Chikara no afureru basho wo.]** He stops when he meets the Super Quant team standing in front of him. He smirks and gives Red a fist bump.

 **[Tsugi no tatakai ga boku wo matteru.]** Many battles play out, with spells being cast and people falling. A giant visage of Cromwell appears in the sky.

 **[Atarashii hibi no aizu ga kikoeru.]** Pharoah Atem opens his eyes and looks to the right. Carlton opens his eyes and looks to the left. Their eyes lock, and Dark Magician clashes with Red Layer.

 **[Saa ima da, kazaseyo kirifuda. Kono mirai wa kimi no mono sa.]** Carlton's fists set alight, and he runs at several soldiers, performing punches and kicks to take them down. Kirche points, and Flame sends a flamethrower. Tabitha flies overhead on Sylphid.

 **[Sono egao de sekai wo yuraseba, sono ato wa jibun shidai dayo.]** Guiche creates a landslide, with Verdande jumping out, surrounded by Valkyries, and Montmorency shoots a jet of water at some soldiers. Princess Henrietta looks longingly out of a castle window.

 **[Egaki dase, sono monogatari wo. Kimi koso ga shujinkou darou?]** Carlton reaches out to Siesta, who's far off in the distance. Louise's eyes glow white, and Carlton's glow gold as he stands in front of her, sword raised against oncoming foes. She raises her wand, and a flash of white overtakes the screen. The final screen shows Carlton, Louise, Guiche, Montmorency, Kirche, Tabitha, and their familiars, all rushing towards a shadowy figure.

* * *

It was late at night, and I was in the courtyard, washing Louise's undergarmets in the fountain. Man, that water was cold! Why did she tell me to do it this late?

 _"It's silk," she said, holding a wrinkled piece of clothing up, "So you have to wash it gently and carefully. Do it again." Why I oughta-?!_

"Damn. Screw this 'gently and carefully' crap!" I said, before hearing footsteps coming up behind me. Thinking it was Louise, I jumped out of fear for the inevitable explosion.

Actually looking at the person who nearly scared me senseless, I saw it was Siesta. "I'm sorry, did I scare you?"

'YES!' I thought.

"Pffft! Of course not!" I said.

* * *

Siesta showed me how to wash silk clothes, even giving me some tips on how to dry them.

"Thanks a lot, Siesta. I've never had to wash clothes by hand before, so this is very new to me."

"Speaking of which, where are you from exactly, Carlton?"

"Eheh... Somewhere unbelievably far away." I said, my thoughts slightly drifting back to my homeworld.

"Um, Carlton?", Siesta said, breaking me from my introspection.

"Hm? What is it Siesta?"

"Thank you very much!" Siesta said, giving me a bow.

"What's up with this, all of a sudden?"

"You never complain about anything, and you were willing to fight a noble even though you're a peasant. You've given me a lot of courage. Thanks to you, I can keep working hard."

"Um, well..." I started. "You give me courage too, Siesta."

"What do you mean?" Siesta asked, blushing slightly.

"The reason that I'm able to fight for what I believe in is because I have things, and people that I must protect. You are one of them, Siesta. Someone who is dear to me, that I must protect. That is why I have the strength to fight."

At that, Siesta almost seemed to tear up. What's going on? "Well, goodnight Carlton!" She said, bowing hurriedly.

"Goodnight Siesta."

With that she walked off, almost dejectedly. That was weird.

* * *

As I was walking back to Louise's room, I was contemplating what could've been going on with Siesta. Then I heard a door open, and saw a certain scantily-clad redhead gazing at me, with a sultry look in her eye.

"Hello, my darling." She said.

Turning on the charm, I decided to use the persona I adopted when I equipped the Ra armour. "Good evening, my Fever."

I saw her rub her thighs together, and let out a slight moan. Damn, I'm good!

"Would you like to spend the night with me, burning up in my passion for you?" Kirche offered.

"As enticing as that may be, I must decline." She gave a slight humph. "You see, my flames have been doused by the cold of the night, and I would never be able to show you my true feelings this night. But, I assure you, my Fever, soon. Very soon." She blushed, and gave off a slight moan. Damn, I'm really good! If only Louise were this easy to sweet talk!

"Very well then. Take care, and remember, my bed is always open, Darling." She said, giving me a peck on the cheek.

"Of course, my Fever."

* * *

 _The next morning, Siesta looked at Louise's window, with a sad look on her face. She gave a slight sigh, and made her way to the carriage waiting outside._

* * *

As I was walking with Louise to her class, she stopped abruptly.

"What's going on?" I asked, curious.

"Starting today, you'll be waiting outside with the rest of the familiar spirits." Ehhh?

"What, why?"

"Because you try to look up other girls skirts far too much." Okay, that was fair.

"Ok..."

"Be good until class is over, okay?"

"Understood."

* * *

I was sitting against the wall with the rest of the familiar spirits. I was resting my hands behind my head, and staring off lazily into the sky. That was until I felt something give my face a lick. Looking towards it, I saw that it was a large green snake, with blue eyes, and a yellow patch in the middle of its head. It nuzzled up to me, and I stroked its head, smiling. It was actually kinda cute. I did this for a little bit longer, until I heard my stomach growl. "Better get some food. See you later!" I said to the snake, getting up. It rattled its tail at me happily. Normally, I would've been freaked out by it, but when you've gone toe to toe with a raging armoured ox, and worn the armour of the god of the sun, it gives you perspective as to what is truly worth being afraid of.

I eventually found myself in the kitchen, where Marteau treated me to a bowl of stew.

"Aahhh... Good as always Marteau!"

"Ha! Anything for Our Sword!" Marteau said, smiling.

Looking around, and noticing a black-haired maid missing, I decided to ask, "By the way, where's Siesta?"

Marteau's face morphed into one of confusion.

"Well, she isn't a cook, so it makes sense that she wouldn't be here all the time." I thought aloud.

"Wait, you didn't hear about it from Siesta?"

Now my face morphed into one of confusion, "Hear what?"

"She quit working at the academy. She had to leave to go and serve Count Mott. She left by carriage this morning."

"EH? She never told me that! Why would she leave?"

"In the end, peasants have to listen to nobles. That's how it works." Marteau said, a bit sad. "Anyway, off to work." He went back and continued preparing meals.

Why wouldn't Siesta tell me that? My mind flashed back to her smiling face from yesterday.

* * *

"Count Mott is an imperial messenger, so he sometimes comes to the academy to deliver notices from the palace," Louise explained as she brushed her hair. "But he's really bossy, and not a nice person. I don't like him."

"But why would Siesta have to go off and serve such an important person?" I said, cleaning the inside of the windows. I had a sneaking suspicion in my gut, but I prayed that I was just overthinking it, and this world was past that point.

At this point, Derf slid out of his sheath, and piped up, saying, "When a noble appoints a young maid by name, it's usually to make her his mistress. I'm surprised you didn't know that."

My cloth dropped to the floor, and a dark aura filled the room.

" **Make her his WHAT!?** " I shouted.

Louise tensed up, and looked at me in fright. Even Derf was silent. I didn't care. My rage was past boiling point. I was so angry I was willing to burn the world.

" **Louise.** " I said.

"Y-yes?"

" **How do I find this Count Mott?** "

"I don't k-know if t-that's a g-good idea... she's just a maid."

" **WHAT?! 'Just a maid'! That maid is the first person in this godforsaken world that treated me with kindness! I would take on anything to get her back! Now tell me how to find Count Mott!** "

Louise looked like she was trying to say something, but couldn't, as she was so scared. I decided to tone down my anger, allowing the dark aura that was filling the room to recede.

"Sorry about that Louise. I'm not really mad at you. But I don't appreciate you calling my friend 'just a maid'."

"I'm sorry as well. It may have been somewhat insensitive to call her as such." Louise said, regaining her composure, now that the crushing pressure was lifted.

It was definitely more than _somewhat_ insensitive, but I decided to let it slide, as it was progress on her part.

Regaining my initial demeanour, I asked calmly, "Now Louise, where can I find this Count Mott?"

"Guiche should know. His father is in the military, so he should have connections to the royal messengers."

"Ok."

* * *

 _When Siesta arrived at Count Mott's estate, she saw how huge the house was and openly gaped. This was for one person? That could fit her entire extended family and still have room to spare!_

 _As she went inside, she was met by a group of women, in somewhat revealing maid outfits. These were Mott's other maids/mistresses, and it was their job to make sure that Siesta would fit in to her new role comfortably. Well, as comfortably as one could when working for that lecherous scumbag. They gave her a dress to wear, and tried to cheer her up by describing the benefits that the job brings. But Siesta's thoughts drifted to a certain familiar, who openly disclosed how much he cared for her. 'Carlton...' she thought sadly._

* * *

Since it was mid-evening, there were no classes, and students were free to hang out in the common areas. I knew Guiche would be at one of them, and thankfully, it was the first place I checked, although the scene I came across really didn't help my mood.

"Ah! A brooch made of mythril! How wonderful!" Montmorency gushed over the item.

"Don't you think it would look good on you?" Guiche asked, turning on the charm.

Looking at him, Montmorency asked, "Is this a way to try and get me to forgive you for your actions?"

"Of course not. Don't tell me you believe that vulgar familiar's- eep!" Guiche gasped, as the killer intent in front of him spiked.

Letting loose my rage once more, but reining it in a bit, I glared at Guiche, saying " **Well, sorry for being vulgar.** "

Jumping up, Guiche put his hands up defensively, stuttering out "N-not at all, Sir Carlton!" He had a serious look of 'Please don't fight me' on his face, so I decided not to let loose on him. I'll save that for Mott.

" **Moving on, I have a question for you Guiche. Where can I find Count Mott?** "

Guiche was very happy to give me directions after that, and even an estimated time of arrival. How polite!

* * *

After I'd gotten directions from Guiche, I was outside the front entrance to the school, making sure I had everything I'd need to beat the crap out of Count Mott. Derf, check. Duel disk, check. Angry face, check. The only problem is transport. I wanted to try and minimise my mana usage, so I could really go all out against Mott, but since horseback wasn't an option, I may be forced to summon something in order to make it there in time.

As I was pondering what to summon, a hand tapped my shoulder. Looking to its owner, I saw a familiar pink-haired girl. "Louise? What are you doing?"

"What do you think? I'm going with you!" EH?

"No, you're not."

"Of course I am. It is the job of the master to accompany their familiar."

"Okay Louise, look. From the time I leave, to the time I come back, I'm not your familiar." I said.

"What?! Why not?"

"Because what I'm about to do will get me in a lot of trouble if it fails. If it's known that I'm your familiar, who do you think will be blamed for my actions?"

"Me..."

"Exactly. I may not be your biggest fan, but I'm not going to allow you to be punished for something I chose to do. When I get back, I'll have Siesta, and everything will be fine. Okay?"

Grumbling to herself, she eventually relented. "Okay. Be safe."

"I will, thanks Louise." I said, turning around. I'd finally thought of the best way for me to get to Count Mott's estate. Drawing the card from my duel disk, I summoned 'Expressroid'. A silver bullet train appeared before me. It had cartoonish eyes, and even little arms sticking out of the sides of the front carriage. It was perfect. A low-level monster, so the mana cost is low, and because it's based on a bullet train, it should be able to get to Count Mott's estate very quickly. It's also significantly smaller than real bullet trains, so I shouldn't draw too much attention to myself. Inputting the destination into it, I waved goodbye to Louise, and boarded.

* * *

To be completely honest, I significantly underestimated the speed at which Expressroid would travel. Thankfully, it floated, so I didn't have to worry about train tracks, and as a result, just like the MagLev system back home, we were off like a bullet, without friction from the rails to slow us down. We made it to Mott's estate within an hour and a half. I was very happy with that result. Recalling Expressroid into my duel disk, I walked up to the gates to the estate, in as non-threatening a fashion as I possibly could.

When the guards saw me approaching, they crossed their weapons in front of the gate, barring my entry. Fair enough. It was their job.

"Halt! What business do you have here?" One of the guards said.

"My name is Carlton. I am here to speak with Count Mott, about one of his newly hired employees." The guard's eyebrow raised at this. "She's a dear friend of mine, and I was hoping that we could negotiate some terms for her immediate return. She's very important to me, and I'd hate to see her sad."

 _The guard took note of the way Carlton was speaking. He didn't seem to be lying, and he could tell that he was hiding some serious anger, clearly trying to keep his cool. The guard also knew of Count Mott's reputation with his young maids. He really did hate seeing such young, innocent girls ruined by that lecher, then thrown to the street, but there was nothing he could do. But maybe there was something this Carlton fellow could do..._

"I'll show you to Count Mott immediately. Please, follow me." The guard said, turning to walk into the estate. As I followed him, I noticed that all of the rest of the guards were making an effort not to look at me. Cool.

We went inside, and started navigating a network of rooms and corridors. The guard spoke up, asking me, "What exactly are you going to do once you meet Count Mott, may I ask?"

I scoffed slightly. He was making sure that I was actually up for what I was about to do. "I'll ask him how he's treating my friend, and if I find that I'm unhappy with how she's being treated, I will take steps to allow her safe exit from this place."

"And why would you go so far?"

"Because she's my friend. Ever since I got here, I was an outcast, someone who was looked down upon for being different. But when I met her, she brightened my life. She supported me through my difficulty, and was the first person here to show me any semblance of kindness. I'm only able to stand here today because of her."

"Hm..." The guard said, listening to my words. "It seems as though you may wish for her to be more than just your friend."

"Maybe so... but I won't be able to explore that possibility if I leave her to that Count. She'll blame herself, and I won't be able to help her. I'm not going to let that happen, no matter the cost." I said resolutely.

"Hmph!" The guard smiled slightly, clearly impressed by my resolve. "You clearly have what it takes to save this young maid. I just hope we're not too late. Prepare yourself. You probably won't like what you find." At this, the guard went to push open the large double doors that we had reached during our conversation. "Count Mott, sir. You have a visitor!" He flashed me a supportive smile.

Here we go...

* * *

 _A few minutes earlier..._

 _Siesta had been called to Count Mott's personal quarters, and was currently tidying up some of the clutter in the room. She tucked in the chair by the desk, straightened the pictures on the walls, and just did everything she could as a maid. She'd hoped that by showing how good of a maid she was, she may be able to circumvent her fate._

 _Unfortunately, the lecherous Count had a very one-track mind. "Come now, enough of that, Siesta dear. I'm sure you know that your skills as a maid aren't why I hired you." He said lustfully, walking towards her._

 _"But Count Mott- ah!" She tried to reason with him, before he grabbed her and started fondling her chest._

 _"Yes, Siesta... There is another reason why I hired you." He said, continuing to grope her._

 _Siesta didn't know what to do. She wished that someone would swoop in and rescue her from this situation. This was not how she wanted to lose her purity! 'Carlton, please help me...' she thought, tearing up._

 _Suddenly the door slammed open, with a voice saying, "Count Mott, sir. You have a visitor!"_

* * *

"Ugh... what is it now?" Mott said, clearly upset at being interrupted.

I rushed in, and when I saw the position they were in, my rage started boiling over again. My dark aura started seeping out, and I felt every instinct in my body screaming at me to kill Mott for this disgrace.

" **Count Mott, what are you doing to Siesta?** " I asked.

"That's none of your concern, peasant! Leave this place at once!" Considering how much killing intent I was letting out, he was surprisingly haughty.

" **Not until I've said what I have to say.** " I replied, glaring at Mott. He seemed to flinch a bit at my dark aura, before regaining his composure.

"Fine then. Speak." Huh, that was surprisingly easy (AN: Really not in the mood for a long back and forth here.)

My eyes fell upon Siesta, and when I saw the look in her eyes, everything froze. In her eyes, I saw fear, panic, and most of all, shame. Even in this situation, Siesta feels shame. She didn't ask for any of this, and yet she's the one suffering the most. "Please, Carlton. Don't look..." At this, something snapped within me, and I let loose all of the rage I had been bottling up, bellowing out whilst drawing Derf and pointing it at Mott,

" **Count Mott! I, Carlton Johnson, hereby challenge you to a duel! Should you win, I will forget what I have seen here, and leave without any further trouble to you. Should I win, Siesta will be released from your employment of her immediately, and return with me. Do you accept?** "

There. I'd managed to make the challenge without killing him.

"No." WHAT? "I have no time for this. Leave now, and I will forget you were ever here." Yeah right.

Smirking, I realised that i just needed a catalyst. I decided on taunting. " **Ooohh, I see. You're afraid of getting defeated by a commoner, aren't you?** " Mott's face contorted into one of rage, and I knew I had him right where I wanted him. " **Very well then, I'll take my leave. But expect everyone in Tristain to be made aware of you cowardice this night.** " I smirked, turning around to walk away.

"Wait!" Bingo. "You dare threaten me?! Count Mott! You'll have your duel, but don't expect any mercy. I will not forgive this insult! We will duel in the courtyard outside immediately."

" **Very well then.** " I said, calming down slightly.

* * *

We found ourselves in the courtyard of Mott's garden, staring each other down. Mott had a magical staff with him, and I had my duel disk activated, with Derf drawn.

"You ready, partner?" Derf asked.

"You bet! Mott! The first person to lose consciousness, or surrender is the loser. Is that acceptable?"

"Yes. Now, let's begin!" Mott said, collecting a ball of water at the tip of his staff. "I'll show you why no one insults the imperial messenger!" He shot a hydro pump at me.

As my grip around Derf tightened, I noticed a warmth on my hand, and a quick glance showed my runes glowing. Turning back to the incoming attack, I ducked under it, rushing at Mott, with Derf at my side. I slashed at him, but he blocked with his staff. I tried a few more slashes, but he managed to block them too. I then decided to go for a feint, swinging Derf at his left shoulder, but as he raised his staff to block, I angled Derf away, to redirect the blade to his now exposed right side. I pressed on with my slash, but he jumped back, with a large slash in the front of his shirt.

This angered him, and she shot small bullets of water at me. I was able to deflect about 60% of them, which was amazing, since I hadn't had any formal sword training, but the rest tore through my shirt, and left lots of cuts all over my body. It actually _hurt_. Since coming to this world, I'd felt pain sure, but it was a dull, aching pain, usually from an explosion. This was a sharp, stinging pain. Pushing through it, I sprinted forward again, dodging another water gun aimed at me. I jumped up, aiming to finish this fight with an _Ittouryoudan_. I brought Derf down, but didn't expect him to send a tidal surge at me from underground. Since I was in midair, I wasn't able to dodge well, and ended up having Derf blasted from my grip, and getting flung back several metres, landing on my back.

Now without my sword, I was forced to use magic. I'd wanted to win with just my weapon, so that I could prolong his pain, but it seemed that I wouldn't get the chance. That tidal surge really did a number on me. Standing up slightly shakily, I drew five cards. I didn't even know which. Mott then shot another hydro pump at me. It was more than enough to knock me out, and make me lose Siesta forever.

No...

I can't let that happen...

I won't let that happen!

"RAAAAGGGGHHHH!" I cried out, as the winds around me picked up, forming a small tornado.

 **Insert BGM - 'Law of the victory' by RIDER CHIPS**

"It can't be..." Derf said.

"I won't let you have Siesta!" Once I shouted this, my eyes glowed blue-purple, and the tornado around me tripled in size, and it gained a deep purple colour, with blue highlights.

"Take hold of the wind, partner!" I heard Derf shout.

I reached my hand out, and particles started forming into it, in the shape of a... card?

On pure instinct, I shouted out, "Skill Activate! **Storm Access!** "

With that, the tornado dispersed, negating Mott's attack. "What!?" He cried out.

After the tornado left, I was just standing there, holding a shining blue card. I couldn't even see what it was, but my body seemed to move on its own. I looked at the cards I drew, and a plan formed in my head, as my mind caught up with my body, and I got a good look at the cards I drew. I smirked, knowing I had this in the bag. I placed one of the card in the trap zone, and continued with my plan.

"I activate Scapegoat!" I shouted, placing the card in one of the spell zones. 4 different coloured floating lambs appeared. Three stayed with me, and one floated over to Siesta. "Now, I activate Token Stampede!" Nothing seemed to happen, but I was preparing for later. "Next, I activate the Field spell, Cynet Universe!" As I placed that card into the field zone, shining hexagonal patterns appeared in the sky, and I felt power emanating from them. Taking a glance at Mott, I saw that he was charging up another huge attack, but was dumbfounded by what happened in the sky. Utilising that chance, I raised my hand to the sky, calling out,

"Appear now! The circuit that connects to the future!" An electric current flew from my hand, and formed a square in the sky, rotated 45 degrees, with black triangles at each of the corners, and at the midpoints of the sides of the square. "The summoning conditions are three effect monsters! I set my three Sheep Tokens in the Link Markers!" The three tokens turned into tornadoes of their colour, before flying into the topmost arrow, and the arrows on either side of the bottom arrow.

"Link Summon! Link-3! He who rewrites destiny with a slash of his dark sword! Come forth! Decode Talker!" I shouted, placing the card on my duel disk. The glowing square then moved downwards, falling on top of me, and passing over me. I started glowing, and navy blue armour with gold trimmings appeared around me, and floated onto my body. A golden sword hilt appeared in my hand, and when I grabbed it, a purple plasma blade extended from it. Again, I'd transformed into a monster! Awesome!

Putting those thoughts aside for now, I remembered the task at hand. Beating the crap out of Mott for making Siesta sad. I activated the final card in my hand, 'Heated Heart', and my sword started flaming. I raised it up, and let the light from Cynet Universe power it up more, causing it to grow larger. I jumped high, shouting out, "This is the end, Mott!"

"I don't think so! Take this, peasant!" He said, shooting a colossal blast of water at me. He must have been charging that for a while.

I smirked. "Trap, activate! Magic Cylinder!" Two large barrels appeared in front of me, one of them absorbing the large attack, and the other shooting the same attack out, back at Mott. I saw him blanche as the tidal surge headed towards him. It collided with him, but I saw that he was still standing afterwards. I guess he must have some kind of resistance to water magic. He looked like he wanted to say something, but was panting hard. This was my chance!

I started falling towards him, my sword in hand. Everything came down to this strike. No matter what, one of us was losing after this attack. I just hoped it wouldn't be me. I pushed all of my magic into my sword, and cried out at the top of my lungs, "Take this! Decoooooode..." I raised my sword behind my head, and willed all of my power to go into it.

"EEEEEEND!"

 **End BGM**

I brought my sword down onto him, with as much force as I could possibly muster. When it hit the ground, there was a line of explosions of dirt, and I was sent flying, knocking me out of my armour, and almost out cold. 'Almost' being the operative word. I got up, willing myself not to lose consciousness, and managed to stand straight. By the time I'd done that, the dirt had settled down, and Mott was lying there on the ground. He was bloodied and bruised, and definitely couldn't fight anymore. Yet he still tried to stand.

"Face it Mott! You've lost this duel! Siesta is returning with me immediately!" I shouted, discreetly touching my duel disk.

"This... this will not stand! Guards, seize him!" Mott ordered. Great.

I immediately got dogpiled by a group of at least 10 guards, all of them laying into me. I was so tired, I couldn't even defend myself. They were all on top of me. So heavy... I was on the verge of passing out...

When I suddenly got a telepathic message from my last Sheep token. It was a live feed of Mott and Siesta.

 _"Come now Siesta. Let us return to what we were doing."_

 _"Bu-but Carlton won! You couldn't fight anymore!"_

 _"I have no clue what you're talking about. See for yourself." The sheep token looked, and sure enough, most of Mott's injuries were healed. The bastard must have used healing water magic on himself. "Anyway, let us be going. My guards shall take care of that nuisance, permanently." He grabbed Siesta, and started dragging her. She tried to resist, shouting, "NO! Help me! Carlton!" The sheep token looked at her face, and I saw the same panic, the same fear, and the same shame as before, and something snapped in me once more._

* * *

 _The sheep token headbutted Mott, since Carlton had changed it to attack position on the down-low. It was actually able to knock Mott to the floor, causing him to hold his likely broken nose, and scream out. "Insolent beast! Do you know what you-"_

 _There was an explosion._

 _Mott wasn't facing it, but he was slightly dazed by his broken nose, and assumed it was of little importance._

 _It wasn't._

* * *

" **Mott.** "

* * *

 _This got Mott to turn around, and what he saw put a look of complete and utter terror on his face. Carlton was standing there, his clothes in tatters from the attacks from his guards. But something was different. He no longer had that same noble resolve that Mott hated so much. In the place of it was pure, unfiltered malice. His eyes were glowing solid purple, his teeth seemed slightly sharper, and his dark aura was exploding out of him. Small dark clouds surrounded his hands, and his expression wasn't just the anger of a person who's friend was wronged. This was the anger of a person who'd nearly lost one of the most important people to him._

 _Suffice to say,_

 _He. Was. Pissed._

 _The Dark Pharaoh had awoken._

* * *

Hey guys!

I was originally planning on having the Dark Pharaoh both debut and kick Mott's ass this chapter, but then, as I was writing it, I decided to put in the Storm Access skill as well, so I thought it may be a bit much for just one chapter.

Anyway, next chapter, we have the Dark Pharaoh unleashing all of his anger on Mott, and a pleasant surprise for him as well after the inevitable beatdown he lays into Mott.

Also, this thing where Carlton equips the armour of a monster rather than summoning it will be explained more later. I'm playing around with ideas for names, but what do you think of 'Spirit Summon'? I'm wondering If I'll include monster type in the chant, like for Ra, it would just be 'Spirit Summon!', but for Decode Talker, it would be 'Spirit Link Summon!' or 'Link Spirit Summon!' I'll have to decide.

Anyway, let me know what you think in those reviews, and I'll see you next time!

Next chapter: **Rage of the Pharaoh**


	8. Rage of the Pharaoh

**Hello people!**

 **In this chapter, we have the punishment game! And we get to see the Dark Pharaoh in action!**

* * *

 **Rage of the Pharaoh**

" **Mott.** " I said darkly, glaring at him. " **You have been judged. It is time to receive your punishment.** "

"Wh-what in Brimir's name is this?! I've never felt such intense magic power before! What exactly are you?"

" **The one being in all of existence that you should never have crossed.** " I cracked my knuckles. " **Now, let's begin.** "

* * *

 **Insert opening – "Kirifuda" by cinema staff**

 **[Saa ima da, kazaseyo kirifuda. Kono mirai wa kimi no mono sa]** Carlton looks up from the ground, followed by Louise. He draws a card, and places it on the duel disk. A streak of light cuts across the screen, revealing the opening title screen.

 **[Giragira moeteru. Samenai yume demo miteiru you ni.]** Carlton stretches as he wakes up. Sunlight peeks through the window of Louise's room. He picks up his duel disk, places it on his arm, smirks, and walks out.

 **[Karada ga motomeru. Tsuyoi yatsu ga iru basho wo.]** Louise tries to transmute some rocks into brass, and they explode. Kirche, Guiche and Montmorency laugh, while Tabitha cracks a slight smile.

 **[Kurakura yureteru. Tashikana mono nado koko ni wa nai kara.]** Carlton strolls across a black background, with visions of his Duel monsters fading in and out in the background.

 **[Tadatada motomeru. Chikara no afureru basho wo.]** He stops when he meets the Super Quant team standing in front of him. He smirks and gives Red a fist bump.

 **[Tsugi no tatakai ga boku wo matteru.]** Many battles play out, with spells being cast and people falling. A giant visage of Cromwell appears in the sky.

 **[Atarashii hibi no aizu ga kikoeru.]** Pharoah Atem opens his eyes and looks to the right. Carlton opens his eyes and looks to the left. Their eyes lock, and Dark Magician clashes with Red Layer.

 **[Saa ima da, kazaseyo kirifuda. Kono mirai wa kimi no mono sa.]** Carlton's fists set alight, and he runs at several soldiers, performing punches and kicks to take them down. Kirche points, and Flame sends a flamethrower. Tabitha flies overhead on Sylphid.

 **[Sono egao de sekai wo yuraseba, sono ato wa jibun shidai dayo.]** Guiche creates a landslide, with Verdande jumping out, surrounded by Valkyries, and Montmorency shoots a jet of water at some soldiers. Princess Henrietta looks longingly out of a castle window.

 **[Egaki dase, sono monogatari wo. Kimi koso ga shujinkou darou?]** Carlton reaches out to Siesta, who's far off in the distance. Louise's eyes glow white, and Carlton's glow gold as he stands in front of her, sword raised against oncoming foes. She raises her wand, and a flash of white overtakes the screen. The final screen shows Carlton, Louise, Guiche, Montmorency, Kirche, Tabitha, and their familiars, all rushing towards a shadowy figure.

* * *

As I glared at Mott, I took notice of his facial expression. It was one of simultaneous confusion and fear. Good. I wanted him to stew in his uncertainty.

I bent my knees slightly, and blitzed forward. I was immediately in front of Mott, and hit him in the chest with a devastating right cross, with my fist ignited in dark flames. He went flying backwards, hitting some shrubbery along the way, which prevented him from hitting the wall of his house. I raised my hand towards him, and his body tensed up. Partially clenching my hand into a fist, I saw a look of pain spread across Mott's face. I pulled my hand towards me, bringing Mott right in front of me, with his hands out to the ides, and his legs split apart slightly.

" **Don't worry Mott. I'm not going to kill you. But when I'm done, you'll probably wish I had.** "

* * *

I punched Mott in the face, knocking him out. Wow, he really is weak. I healed him with 'Blue Medicine', and decided to bring an end to this.

" **Hey Mott.** "

"Yes..." he whimpered, clearly done with this situation.

" **I'm going to let you go now.** "

"Thank you, kind sir. Your mercy is apprecia-"

" **Hold up. Who said anything about mercy? I'm just doing it to make this next part sporting.** "

"Whatever do you mean?" he asked, as I dropped him to the ground.

" **You are going to suffer true fear. Consider it penance for your sins against Siesta. You were going to defile one of the purest people in this world, and you aren't even truly sorry for it. You just want to save your own skin. Don't worry, by the end of this, you'll feel apologetic about every action that you've ever taken.** " I stared deeply into his eyes, subtly beginning the process.

3...

2...

1...

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! SOMEONE HEEEEEEEEELP! PLEEEEAAAASE!"

I decided to give Mott a taste of the 'Experience of Death'. I projected an illusion of the Shadow Realm into his consciousness, where he experienced being brutally killed by all manner of duel monsters. Dragons burnt him to a crisp and ate him, Golems crushed him, Beasts tore him apart, Machines peppered him with artillery fire, Spellcasters blew him up, and many more visceral deaths. Even though he wasn't physically getting hurt, to him it sure as hell seemed like it. After about 2 minutes, I released the illusion, since Seto Kaiba did find evidence that prolonged exposure led to insanity. Once his mind was free, he fell to the ground, cowering in fear. "Wh-what was that?"

" **A taste of true fear. I have decided to be somewhat merciful by ending your torment there. However, if you ever try something like this again, you will experience trauma far worse than that.** "

"Su-surely you jest..."

" **Are you really willing to risk it? Control your libido, or I'll control it for you. Now, one last question Mott.** "

"Of course, what is it?"

" **Do you surrender, or shall I knock you out without healing you, just to make it official?** "

"Ah! I surrender! I surrender! Take the girl and go! Just please... don't hurt me..."

I brought Derf to my hand with my telekinesis, and raised him up to strike Mott, but just as I was about to bring the sword down on him, I smiled. " **Good choice.** " Turning to Siesta, I saw that she was unconscious, and was lying on the floor, her head supported by my last sheep token. My dark aura dissipated instantly upon seeing her, and I walked over to her, gently shaking her to wake her up. "Come on Siesta. Wake up. It's time for us to go home."

She slowly opened her eyes. "I'm not dreaming... am I?"

"No, Siesta. This is real. I saved you. I'm so sorry I wasn't there to protect you in the first place. Can you ever for-mmph?!" My speech was muffled by a set of soft lips pressed on mine. Wait, what? What's happening?

Focusing on the situation, I saw Siesta's face much closer to mine than it had ever been before, and her eyes were closed... wait. Is she kissing me? She is!

I didn't know what to do, so I let instinct drive me. I kind of melted into the kiss, closing my eyes, and bringing my hands behind her back, pulling her closer to me. It was a very enjoyable sensation, especially from someone who I cared about so deeply. I felt all the emotions she poured into it: admiration, gratitude, joy, and most of all, love.

Eventually we had to pull back, as we needed to breathe, and I rested my forehead against hers. "Siesta," I began.

"A victory kiss, Carlton. You're my hero." She spoke softly, with a smile gracing her features.

"Hehe. Good job partner." Derf said.

I nodded. "Let's go home."

"Okay."

* * *

Thankfully, I had enough mana left to summon Expressroid, and get us back to school. We didn't speak much on the journey. I just held her, as she slept. I had to be awake, so that Expressroid wouldn't de-materialise on us, but that was fine. Or so I thought.

Once we got back to the academy, I walked Siesta back to her maid quarters. All of the other maids were so happy to see Siesta back that they got me in a big group hug, which the perverted side of me definitely appreciated. I left them to help Siesta get settled back in, and made my way to Louise's room. Knocking softly on the door, I entered, and saw that Louise was still awake.

"Evening Louise."

"Good evening Carlton. I trust that you were able to successfully recover the maid?"

"Yes. The battle was hard fought, but I managed to pull out a victory."

"Battle?" Louise raised an eyebrow at that.

"Yeah, I challenged Mott to a duel. I was able to beat him."

"Are you crazy?!"

"What? What's wrong?"

"You challenged another noble to a duel, and not just any noble, but an imperial messenger! You idiot! This could have extremely severe repercussions!"

"Okay, calm down. There's no need to get so flustered about- ack!" My speech was interrupted by a sharp pain in my chest.

"Huh? What's wrong Carlton?"

'I guess I took more damage than I thought.' I thought to myself, as my limbs started to feel heavy, and I fell to my knees.

"Louise, we'll talk... in the... morning..." I managed to say, before the darkness completely overtook me, and I passed out.

* * *

It was just like the situation from before, where I woke up in my dreamscape, with my ancestors all in front of me. "Hey grandpa!" I greeted, seeing him in the front of the crowd, just like last time.

" _Hey there son. Listen. We need to talk again._ "

Guessing what it was about, I asked, "It's about what happened to me when I defeated Mott, isn't it?"

Grandpa nodded.

"So, do you have any idea of what actually happened?"

At this, grandpa shook his head. " _Unfortunately, this is the first time something like this has ever happened. We have no prior records of anyone going through what happened to you. We were able to get some understanding of it whilst you were in that state, however. It seems to be triggered by extremely strong emotions, and it seems as though the fact that you were so fatigued made you even stronger when you actually changed._ "

"Interesting..." I said, with my hand to my chin. "On the note of fatigue, is that another reason why I'm here?"

" _Yeah. Your fight with Mott drained you completely. You were out of stamina before you used the Decode End._ "

"Seriously?! How was I able to stand up again, then?"

" _Your mana substituted for your stamina. You were running on pure magic, which may have been a contributing factor to your transformation._ "

"But even with that, I should've burned through my mana before I finished punching Mott. There must have been something else, since I still had enough power left to summon Expressroid afterwards..."

" _Ever the observant one, eh Carlton? It's true, given how much mana you had left, you should've completely run out of energy before you used the illusion magic on Mott. So we analysed the aura you were giving off, and the power wasn't entirely mana._ "

"If it wasn't mana, then what could it possibly be?"

" _Ba. The energy of the Shadow Realm itself._ "

I froze. "I used the energy of the Shadow Realm to fuel that transformation? But that's impossible! I have no way of accessing the Shadow Realm!" As soon as I said that, it hit me.

" _You may not do, but someone in this world does. From what I can gather, that 'Battle Ox' you fought not too long ago was summoned, but I'm not completely sure of the circumstances."_

If 'Battle Ox' was summoned, that means that someone is either a duelist with realisation powers like me, or there is a mage with access to the Shadow Realm. Either way, things were not looking good.

" _You also have to remember that all duel monsters originate from the Shadow Realm as well. Simply being near them may expose you to some of the Shadow Realm's power, although for your summons, it would be quite diluted. But for a monster summoned straight from the Shadow Realm, that may be a different story... simply touching it would be enough to leave an imprint of ba energy in your body._ "

"That makes sense. My summoning is more like Solid Vision, where I basically create a body with my magic power, and the spirit of the duel monster controls it, whereas if someone summons the traditional way, then the body that has been exposed to the Shadow Realm will be in this world, and the Ba will be free to infect anyone who comes into contact with someone infected with it. It's probably quite weak, so it would only infect from certain forms of contact... Wait, that means... Oh no!"

" _What! What's wrong?_ "

"Siesta's in danger! She'd have been exposed to Ba as well! I need to find some way to suppress it!"

" _Why would Siesta be in danger?_ "

Forcing down a blush, I said "Does it really matter? I need to wake up and check if she's infected, and if she is, I need to seal the Ba within her until I can figure out a way to extract it!"

" _Calm down. You have plenty of time. She doesn't use magic, so she won't have any reasons to tap into the Ba. You'll have time to devise a strategy, and make sure it works. Trust yourself._ "

Taking a breath to calm myself down, I calmly said "Thanks grandpa. I really should be going now. I think I've been asleep for long enough."

" _Fair point. Be prepared for a shock when you wake up._ " He said, waving me off as my vision went completely white.

* * *

 **Hey guys!**

 **The Dark Pharaoh makes his debut!**

 **To be honest, I wasn't sure whether to make the end to the fight funny, or brutal. I went with brutal (as brutal as you can get with Yu-Gi-Oh), since I think it fit the situation better. He turned into a raging psychopathic illusionist magician. He had no reason to hold back. The experience of Death worked quite well there. Carlton also originally beat Mott to a pulp before healing him, and then used the 'Experience of Death'. I made it a simple punch, because Mott wasn't really evil, just selfish, and conceited.**

 **Also, there was a kiss! I've diverged from canon, but there won't really be much in terms of relationship progression in the short term between Carlton and Siesta. I'm open to her becoming the main girl, but I want to give the others a chance first.**

 **Also, just to clarify, yes I know that in canon Yu-Gi-Oh, Ba is life energy, and not the energy of the Shadow Realm, but I couldn't think of a name, and Ba worked well enough.**

 **Anyway, we'll be moving on to the Familiar Exhibition Tournament next chapter, so stay tuned!**


End file.
